Paguir Pan, 22, on Friday faced the Victorian Supreme Court, where he was sentenced to a total of 24 years in prison for the murder of Winis Apet at Springvale in March 2019.
Pan shot Mr Apet with a 12-gauge shotgun from about one metre away after getting into a scuffle with him outside a hookah lounge.
He had consumed ice, alcohol and Xanax earlier in the night.
Justice Lesley Taylor said Pan's "cowardly and callous" outburst was at least partly motivated by a belief that Mr Apet owed another friend money.
She said the shooting could not be characterised as a spur-of-the-moment reaction to the fight, as Pan and Mr Apet were briefly separated in between the two incidents.
"It is inconceivable that your anger at the fight would have flared and burned at sufficient intensity for you to get your gun and shoot him," Justice Taylor told the court.
"Whatever anger you felt - you had more than sufficient time to regain your temper."
Pan then concealed the weapon in a bag and immediately left the scene without rendering assistance to Mr Apet.
Justice Taylor said the 22-year-old had guarded prospects of rehabilitation as he had struggled to live a "crime-free life" and murdered Mr Apet while on bail for armed robbery.
"You will not be a young man when you are released," the judge told him.
Pan must serve at least 16 years behind bars before eligible for parole. He has already served more than two years in pre-sentence detention.
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