Jason Rabedeaux, Head Coach of the Saigon Heat, took time off from preparing his team for their next game to talk about the Heat’s early success and the development of basketball in Vietnam.

The Saigon Heat are 3-2.  Is where you expected to be, from a win-loss perspective, at this point in the season? 

I thought our schedule was top-heavy to start the season.  We started with games against 4 playoff teams.  I thought we had an opportunity to win the Malaysia game.  And we didn’t play well last week against San Miguel.  But we are pleased to be 3-2.  

The Heat are less than 2 seasons old.  It seems like right from the first time the Heat tipped off at Tan Binh Stadium, they were a hit with the Vietnamese.  Was that a surprise?  What makes the Heat so popular? 

Well, there are still quite a few people in Vietnam that don’t know about us.  But that’s changing with exposure through the ABL and through TV.  You have to remember, basketball is below ground level in terms of its development in Vietnam.  But the fans find us great entertainment.

Despite the Heat’s popularity, they got off to a slow start, losing their first 7 games.  Then you took over.  Why were they struggling so much, and what changes did you make? 

We struggled for a combination of reasons.  Everything was new.  We had a lot of local players with little regional experience.  When I became head coach, we changed imports and brought in Jahmar Thorpe.  We also brought in new ASEAN players.  We trimmed our local roster back to five players.  And we held the players accountable for their performance.  We started 0-7, but finished 8-6. 

Your team has Americans, Filipinos and Vietnamese.  Some have played a lot of professional ball overseas; some are new to the pro game.  How do you get guys from such different cultures and backgrounds to work together? 

In fact we have Americans, Filipinos, Filipino-Americans, Vietnamese and a Vietnamese-American.  So you could say we span five cultures.  And five of our top six guys are rookies.  For (David) Palmer and (Dior) Lowhorn, it’s their first time playing in Asia.  And we didn’t have our team come together until December 1^st.  So it takes time to gel.         

You’ve coached in the USA, China, Japan and the Middle East.  What, if anything, makes coaching in Vietnam unique? 

It’s easy to say basketball is the same everywhere, but in fact it isn’t.  Basketball is different in different places.  We are at the grassroots level in this country.  We're not just trying to win ABL games.  We're trying to create a basketball revolution in this country.  You will only go as far as your locals will take you.  We have a chance to make a great impact in a city of 10 million people. 

Our local players are 24 and 25 years old and are just getting their first international experience now.  So the sport has a ways to go.  I often say the best basketball player in Vietnam might be 10 years old.  

Living in Ho Chi Minh City, have you noticed more people playing basketball since the Heat started play?

Not yet.  The biggest problem is a shortage of basketball facilities.  

How would you compare the quality of play in the ABL to that of other Asian leagues or US collegiate basketball?

Comparing it to college ball, I would say the ABL is similar to a really good mid-major college conference in the United States.  Compared to other pro leagues in Asia, one thing that is good about the ABL is two imports are allowed on the floor.  I coached in the Japanese Basketball League, where only one import is allowed on the floor. 

But the best thing about the ABL is the fact that it’s international.  It's country against country.  It's national pride.  When the Saigon Heat play, we are Vietnam’s team.  When the Indonesia Warriors play, they are Indonesia’s team.  It's fun. 

With a 22-game regular season, you often have a week, or more, between games.  How do you keep your team focused and fresh when they have so much downtime? 

You really have to manage your practices.  We play 5 out of 7 days.  We lift 4 days a week.  For scrimmages, it’s hard to find quality opponents.  We end up playing each other.  And I have to be careful to manage the guys’ legs through the entire season.  You don’t win the title in March. 

What are your goals for the Saigon Heat in 2013? 

It would be monumental to make the playoffs.  That’s what we are striving for.  The second goal is how much more we can spread the word of basketball around Vietnam.

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A few thoughts on the game Friday night at Ynares Sports Arena…

Here are final statistics for the two teams involved.  See if you can guess who won.

Team A: 46% FG, 82% FT, 40 Rebounds, 14 Offensive Rebounds, 8 Turnovers
Team B: 38% FG, 75% FT, 32 Rebounds, 11 Offensive Rebounds, 11 Turnovers

Team A must have won, right?  Well, no.  Team A is the San Miguel Beermen and Team B is the Indonesia Warriors, and the Warriors came out on top 98-96.  So what happened?

Indonesia started knocking down shots. Mario Wuysang and John Smith both hit 3-pointers with time winding down.  Chris Daniels found his groove inside, coming up with yet another double-double. 

Also, the Beermen had point guard Chris Banchero foul out late in the fourth quarter.  San Miguel is a different team without Banchero.  Dribble penetration is harder to come by.  It also changed how they defended…

…Jerick Canada, who just wasn’t going to be denied.  With Banchero out, Canada was free to drive inside and force the Beermen to foul.  Canada went to the line 10 times in 4^th quarter and made 8 free throws.  Clutch is an overused word in sports, but on Friday in Pasig City, Canada was it.