James Kwekuteye did not get the Zamboanga debut he wanted as the Valientes bowed to Saigon, 71-75, in Leg 1 of the ASEAN Basketball League Invitational, Friday at OCBC Arena.
Kwekuteye previously missed the Valientes’ 94-108 win over Surabaya last Tuesday. This time around, he produced 12 points and six rebounds. However, it was not enough to lift Zamboanga to victory, falling to 1-1.
A slow start plagued Zamboanga, falling behind by 20 points, 72-52, midway through the final frame.
Kwekuteye, Antonio Hester, Jeremy Arthur, and Kemark Carino rallied the Valientes back, eventually cutting the lead to 75-71 with 1:27 left.
However, the Valientes could not connect with long bombs late as the Heat held on for their third straight win.
Jairus Holder and Evan Charles Gilyard both got 17 points apiece to lead the Heat.
Hassan Thomas tallied a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Vinh Nguyen and Jeremy Combs got 13 and 12 points respectively.
Hester led Zamboanga with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Carino got nine points and four rebounds. Arthur wound up with eight points but shot just 3-of-13 from the field.
John Amores, who got 16 points last Tuesday, was limited to just five points.
Zamboanga will next face NS Matrix on Saturday.
