THE Taiwan Mustangs swept their way to the 4th leg title of The Asian Tournament.
With former NBA player Quinn Cook at the forefront, the Mustangs was just too much against the Zamboanga Valientes, 146-100, to win the championship behind a five-game sweep of the leg.
The 31-year-old Cook, two-time NBA champion, unloaded 40 points, including 10 three pointers, while adding 10 rebounds in the wire-to-wire win Thursday night at the Taipei Heping basketball gymnasium.
The Mustangs were simply a dominant force the entire week-long meet with Cook teaming up with fellow NBA alum Dwight Howard and DeMarcus Cousins, along with 7-foot-6 Sam Deguara, former San Miguel Beer guard Alex Cabagnot, and naturalized Cambodian Oscar Lopez.
The Taipei team of coach Chris Gavina posted a winning average of 31.8 points.
Photo: Taiwan Mustangs FB page
The Mustangs’ biggest winning margin came at the expense of two-time leg champion Pola Pilipinas RPG, 134-70, while their closest winning margin was at 100-92 against Leg 1 champion Macau Black Bears.
The victory over Pola Pilipinas was also a payback for the Mustangs, who lost the second leg title against the Philippine side.
The Mustangs go for a back-to-back championship run next week when the tournament holds its grand finals in Zamboanga on August 5-12, with home team Valientes hosting the games.
Photo: Taiwan Mustangs FB page
It remains to be seen though, if Taipei would be able to keep intact the trio of Cook, Howard, and Cousins for the grand finals.
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