ZAMBOANGA Valientes opened the Batam Circuit of the 2023 ABL Invitational with a 45-point blowout of Cooly Bangkok Tigers, 118-73, on Thursday at the Hi-Test Arena in Indonesia.
James Kwekuteye spearheaded the rout, scoring eight of his 20 points in the second quarter when the Filipinos used a 32-point eruption to grab a 54-37 halftime lead.
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The former San Beda guard shot 4-of-9 from deep, to go with five rebounds, two assists, and one block to push Zamboanga to a 3-2 slate.
Antonio Hester also exploded for 26 points, 12 boards, five dimes, and two steals off the bench, as Rudy Lingganay also waxed hot from deep and went 6-of-7 from distance for his 20 points and five assists.
Four more players scored in double figures with American import Ryan Smith scoring 17 points, hauling down 24 rebounds, and blocking three shots and the whole team shooting 17-of-38 from beyond the arc - a mercurial 44-percent clip.
Jeremy Arthur chipped in 13 points built on three treys, alongside four assists, three rebounds, and three steals, as John Amores and Jeffry Bernardo both had 10 in a game where the Valientes led by as much as 47 points.
Zamboanga seeks to make it 2-0 in this leg when it takes on NS Matrix on Saturday.
The Malaysian side beat the Valientes, 86-82, last Saturday.
Jose Nouchanthavong led the Thais with 16 points, four assists, and three rebounds as former PBA import Arizona Reid sat out the contest.
The scores:
ZAMBOANGA 118 - Hester 26, Kwekuteye 20, Lingganay 20, Smith 17, Arthur 13, Bernardo 10, Amores 10, Chan 2, Carino 0, Alcantara 0, Belorio 0, Cawaling 0.
BANGKOK 73 - Nouchanthavong 16, Sirijariyaporn 14, W. Dasom 10, Ejesu 10, To-Ngiw 7, K. Dasom 6, Smith 4, Biasumrit 3, Thongpool 2, Franco 0.
Quarters: 22-19, 54-37, 87-66, 118-73.
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