It was a strong start for the newbie squad in the NBA G-League as Ignite topped Golden State affiliate squad Santa Cruz Warriors, 109-104 inside the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
The young team, mostly consisting of high school graduates and potential prospects, balled out against the Warriors and the come backing player, Jeremy Lin.
Filipino-American Jalen Green scored 11 points on his debut.
The veteran NBA player Jarrett Jack led the Ignite, but the youngster also provided significant input in the team’s win.
Jonathan Kuminga shined with 19 markers with four rebounds.
It shows that they can already compete at a higher level.
The squad’s goal aside from winning the tournament is to gain experience as they set their drafted goals for the next year’s NBA draft.
Oklahoma City Blue will test the Ignite squad on February 12, followed by a match against Raptors 905 on the 13th.
They will play through a hectic schedule that will be beneficial to them before entering the NBA.
Unfortunately, pure Filipino Kai Sotto is not what the team will probably miss the entire G-League season as he chose to commit for Gilas Pilipinas.
