By ADRIAN STEWART CO
John Amores had a triumphant basketball comeback as Zamboanga Valientes cruised to a 108-94 beating of Louvre Surabaya in the Singapore Circuit of the 2023 ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Invitational at the OCBC Arena in Singapore on Tuesday, January 3.
Amores, who got a new lease on life after his punching incident in the NCAA last November, tallied 16 points, including two three-point conversions, to go with five rebounds and two steals for the Valientes.
The former Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers power forward served as a huge spark off the bench for Zamboanga as they kicked off their international campaign on a winning note.
However, it was Antonio Hester who came alive for the Philippine squad in the fourth period as he anchored a massive 15-2 scoring blast that turned an 87-83 deficit to a 98-89 spread with three minutes left.
Hester, who played as an import for Terrafirma Dyip in the PBA before, led the Valientes with 35 points, with 16 coming in the fourth quarter to go with 11 rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Fil-Am forward Jeremy Arthur chipped in 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and five steals, while American import Ryan Smith had a solid double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Valientes.
Zamboanga notched the season-opener win despite missing the services of San Beda University Red Lions guard James Kwekuteye, who was in street clothes due to an unspecified injury.
Marcus Hammonds top-scored with 32 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Alioune Tew had a monster double-double effort of 24 points and 22 rebounds for Surabaya.
Filipino-Indonesian Biboy Enguio wound up with 14 points but committed six turnovers for Surabaya, which went up by as much as nine points in the early minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Valientes will aim for their second consecutive victory as they battle Saigon Heat of Vietnam at the same venue on Friday night, January 6.
ZAMBOANGA 108 — Hester 35, Arthur 21, Smith 18, Amores 16, Lingganay 6, Carino 2, Cawaling 2, Cadiz 2, Jumao-as 2, Chan 2, Bernardo 2, Belorio 0.
LOUVRE 94 — Hammonds 32, Tew 23, Enguio 14, Johnson 12, Tuasela 4, Pratama 3, Da Silva 3, Pelmelay 2, Gunawan 0, Saputra 0, Islamy 0.
Quarterscores: 19-24, 39-46, 65-74, 108-74./ASC, WDJ