HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - The national men’s basketball team is training hardfor the upcoming 31st SEA Games in May, aiming to better their performanceat the previous event.

Coach KevinYurkus and his staff have called 18 players to prepare for the twocompetition formats – 5x5 and 3x3.

Yurkus willcontinue to be the head coach of the 5x5 team, while Matt Valt Pelt, whojust had an impressive season in leading Saigon Heat at the recent VBAtournament, will coach the 3x3 team.

Both teams aimto achieve better results than in the previous SEA Gameswhen they won a bronze medal in both formats. 

Manyof the 18 players called up are familiar names for Vietnamese basketballfans.

OverseasVietnamese like the Dinh brothers, Justin Young, Khoa Tran, Chris Dierker andStefan Nguyen will continue to be key players in the latest campaign.

Meanwhile,homegrown players like Vo Kim Ban, Du Minh An, Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinhand Dang Thai Hung promise to bring more diverse tactical options forcoach Yurkus.

Theteam has also welcomed new players like Antony Sundberd and Kim Ji Soo,who were called to the squad for the first time. 

Playingin the PG position, Antony Sundberd is expected to be a wildcard at the tournament. The 20-year-old athlete is therecord holder for three-pointers made in a game in the last VBAseason, scoring eight. 

Meanwhile,19-year-old Kim Jisoo, SF, is expected to add more power tooffence and defence formations.

Onthe defensive front, there is also Dang Thai Hung and Nguyen Van Hung, whohad impressive defensive stats in Thang Long Warriors’ matches at the lastVBA tournament.

The returnof some experienced veterans is expectedto add quality to the squad.

Oneof them is Trieu Han Minh, the most experienced and oldest playeron the team.

At34, with more than 15 years of playing basketball at many levels – amateur,semi-pro and professional – he is still showing amazingly consistent form.

Theshooting guard has played for the Da Nang Dragons in the lasttwo VBA seasons. He averaged 9.5 points per game and had athree-pointer success rate of 37.7 percent. 

Heis also a key player for the HCM City basketball team that haswon several national championships.

Players likeHan Minh will be an advantage for the Vietnamese basketball team at the 31stSEA Games, especially when it lacks players specialising in longthrows.

HanMinh and young players like Vo Kim Ban and Antony Sundberd, who haveaccurate throws from outside the 3-point line, can help big men like ChrisDienker or Nguyen Huynh Phu Vinh can get more spacein restricted areas.

Atthe previous SEA Games in the Philippines, the Vietnamese basketball teambrought home two bronze medals. It was the first time that the team achievedsuccess at a regional event./.