The Zamboanga Valientes fell short of sustaining their hot start, absorbing a 97-82 loss to Al Sharjah SC of Dubai in the 34th Dubai International Basketball Championships on Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) in Dubai, UAE.
The Valientes opened strong, surging to a 30-15 lead in the first quarter behind outside shooting from Prince Caperal and Adonis Thomas. However, Al Sharjah gradually fought back, taking a 49-47 advantage by halftime.
Zamboanga briefly regained the lead at 56-54 on two free throws by Sam Deguara, but the home team countered with a decisive run to build a commanding 75-64 lead with over seven minutes remaining, ultimately securing the victory.
The Valientes rallied to within 70-75 on a split free throw by Maodo Malick Diouf, a basket by Thomas, and a three-pointer by Rence Padrigao, but Al Sharjah answered with 16 straight points to pull away for good.
Nicholas West top-scored for Al Sharjah with 30 points, DeQuan Jones added 29 markers, while Mohamed Asad and Sidiya Cheikh Gueye had 15 and 11 markers, respectively.
Deguara finished with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Valientes, Chris Michael Tolomia added 14 markers, Padrigao and Thomas tallied 13 apiece, and Caperal ended with 11 points for the Valientes.
The Valientes will try to bounce back against Al Ahli Tripoli of Libya at 11 in the evening tonight (Manila time).
The post Zamboanga falters to Al Sharjah in Dubai tourney first appeared on Fastbreak.
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