Justin Young is a key part of the Vietnamese squad in Mongolia. (Photo: toquoc.vn) Vietnam are in Group D with Tahiti, Thailand, Malaysia and Mongolia. Theirfirst match will be against Tahiti.
The Vietnam Basketball Federation (VBF) selected their 12 best players,including Justin Young and Dinh Thanh Sang.
Young, an overseas Vietnamese player, made his national team debut in 2019 atthe FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup. The captain of Thang Long Warriors has grown into animportant national team player in recent years.
Young's time in the Vietnamese jersey has been marked by success. He helped thenational side to two bronze medals at the SEA Games 30 before he and histeammates won a historic silver medal in the 3x3 event at the SEA Games 31 lastMay.
In the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 preliminary round, Young will play for Vietnam as aVietnamese domestic player, as from October 31, the International BasketballFederation (FIBA) officially recognised Young as a fully-qualified domesticVietnamese domestic player.
The fact that Young became a domestic player allowed the Vietnamese team toselect another foreign player, and Dinh Thanh Sang, a Vietnamese-American, wasselected. Cantho Catfish's star also played in the past two SEA Games.
Sang is a player familiar with the basketball-loving audience in Vietnam. He isone of the rare players to participate in the VBA seasons from 2016 to nowfully. He is a key member of the Cantho Catfish team that dominated the VBA during2017-19.
As well as the above, the Vietnamese side can call on other outstanding names,like Tran Dang Khoa, Vo Kim Ban and Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh.
Saigon Heat head coach Matt Van Pelt will lead the Vietnamese team in thistournament. It is the first time a young American coach has trained thenational team, replacing Kevin Yurks.
The FIBA Asia Cup 2025 pre-qualifiers have two rounds. The teams will bedivided into four groups based on their regions. West Asian teams are in GroupsA and B, while East Asian teams are in Groups C and D.
The teams will play in a round-robin format in the first round, with the topthree teams advancing to the second round.
The three advancing teams from Groups A and B will be put into Group E, whilethose from Groups C and D will be merged into group F.
Teams in Groups E and F will continue to play in a round-robin format. The topfour teams in each group will advance to the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup 2025qualifiers, along with 16 other teams that have entered directly.
In the first pre-qualifying round, Vietnam are in Group D. To advance to thesecond round, Vietnam must finish at least third./.
VNA
