MANILA – Zamboanga Valientes sustained a 90-65 defeat to Sagesse Sports Club of Lebanon in the 34th Dubai International Basketball Championship on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning in the Philippines) at the Al Nasr Sports Club in Dubai, UAE.
Shabazz Muhammad, a former NBA player who previously played for the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots in the PBA, anchored Sagesse’s dominant victory with 32 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Gerard Hadidan added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Ahmad Ali Ibrahim contributed 11 points for the Lebanese squad, which secured their second win in three games.
Muhammad waxed hot early for Sagesse as they surged to a 26-8 score after the first 10 minutes before widening their advantage further to 46-24 entering the halftime break.
The Valientes showed some life in the third quarter behind the outside shooting of former Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings forward Prince Caperal as they cut the deficit to 48-58.
However, Sagesse responded with a 12-2 run bridging the third and fourth periods to extend the lead to 70-50 until it reached its largest at 28 points at 90-62 on a basket by Hadidan.
Caperal finished with 18 points, including three outside conversions, to go with three rebounds as the Valientes dropped to 0-3 win-loss record, eliminating them from playoff contention.
Adonis Thomas also ended up with 18 markers on a poor 5-of-16 field goal shooting, while Sam Deguara struggled with just nine points to go with 10 rebounds for the Valientes./PN
BOX SCORE:
SAGESSE 90 — Muhammad 32, Ibrahim 11, Hadidan 11, Thomas 9, Jamal-Aldin 8, Khalil 7, Lofton 6, Abddl Massih 5, Khoueiry 1, Kheres 0, Nakhle 0.
ZAMBOANGA 65 — Thomas 18, Caperal 18, Deguara 9, Cabañero 8, Padrigao 5, Diouf 4, Jimenez 2, Tolomia 1, McCarthy 0, Lingganay 0.
Quarterscores: 26-8, 46-24, 67-50, 90-65.
