Mario Chalmers & Antonio Hester | Photo credit: ABL
Philippines representative Zamboanga Valientes MLV (5-5) defeated the Bangkok Tigers (1-10), 84-80 in the third leg of the 2023 ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) Invitational tournament on Monday, February 6 at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Former Terrafirma import Antonio Hester led the Valientes with another double-double performance of 36 points on 16-of-25 shooting to go with thirteen rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. The 36-year-old former two-time NBA champion Mario Chalmers finished with 11 points (4/10fg, 0/5 3pts, 3/4ft) along with two rebounds, four assists, four steals in 24 minutes of play in his second ABL game while Mohamed Tosh Sesay added ten points and five rebounds.
The Valientes will face the Hong Kong Eastern on Tuesday, February 7 at 8:00pm. [UPDATE: HONG KONG def. PHL, 83-55]
* As per Spin.ph article, import Antonio Hester is set to fly back to Manila this week and start practicing with the Magnolia Hotshots as replacement for Eric McCree.
The Scores:
ZAMBOANGA 84 - Hester 36, Chalmers 11, Sesay 10, Lingganay 7, Cariño 7, Kuwekuteye 7, Arthur 4, Bernardo 2, Cawaling 0, Amores 0, Esa 0, Ferrer 0.
BANGKOK 80 – Freeman 23, Stone Jr 22, Biasumrit 18, Nouchanthavong 10, Dasom 7, Charansarn 0, Boateng 0, To-Ngiw 0.
Quarters: 23-16, 37-33, 60-49, 84-80. [GAME STATS] | [GAME HIGHLIGHTS] | [Buy PBA Jersey]
Zamboanga Valientes vs. Bangkok Tigers (VIDEO)
