JAMES Kwekuteye's 25-point night still wasn't enough as Zamboanga Valientes could not hurdle NS Matrix, losing, 98-88, on Saturday in the Batam Circuit of the 2023 ABL Invitational at Hi-Test Arena in Indonesia.
Zamboanga Valientes vs NS Matrix
The Fil-Canadian slasher shot 4-of-11 from deep, to go with five rebounds and two steals but could not stop the Philippine side from suffering a deja vu and once again collapsing down the stretch.
Zamboanga could not hold on to an 83-81 lead midway through the final canto as NS Matrix staged a game-turning 15-0 blitz capped off by a Wong Yi Hou jumper with 1:11 to play.
Jeremy Arthur added 21 points, six boards, four assists, and two steals, Antonio Hester only had 18 points, five rebounds, five dimes, and four steals, and Rudy Lingganay drained four treys for his 14 points, eight assists, three steals, and two rebounds in the losing effort.
Aside from the starters, none of the bench players scored for the Valientes as compared to 26 for NS Matrix's relievers.
That dropped Zamboanga to an even 3-3 record as it tries to bounce back on Tuesday against the Macau Black Bears.
Amir Williams paced NS Matrix with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks, while Tevin Glass also had a double-double to his name with 24 points, 10 boards, three assists, and two steals.
Ting Chun Hong chimed in 14 points, six rebounds, and two dimes, as De Wee Yiang got 11 to push the side of coach Jeff Viernes to a 4-2 card.
Zamboanga also bowed to the Malaysians, 86-82, in the Singapore Circuit just last week.
The Scores:
NS MATRIX 98 -- Williams 25, Glass 24, Ting 14, De 11, Wong CH 7, Wong YH 6, Ong 6, Teo 3, J. Wong 2, Ooi 0, Kuek 0, Heng 0.
ZAMBOANGA 88 -- Kwekuteye 25, Arthur 21, Hester 18, Lingganay 14, Smith 10, Chan 0, Amores 0, Bernardo 0, Belorio 0, Alcantara 0.
Quarters: 24-25, 49-49, 75-69, 98-88.