Pola Pilipinas RPG picked up the pieces from its winless campaign in the opening leg of The Asian Tournament (TAT) to rule the Passi edition with a pulsating 72-69 victory over Taiwan Mustangs last Monday.
Jayvee Dela Cruz nailed a clutch triple off Jose Nouchanthavong's nice kickout pass to give the Philippine representative a 70-66 lead with 47.5 seconds left – much to the delight of the jam-packed crowd inside the City of Passi Arena.
Nouchanthavong showed the way for Pola with 18 points, including two pressure-packed free throws that kept pesky Taiwan at bay in the waning seconds.
He was amply supported by Xavier Alexander who posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds while Henry Iloka and Joseph Obasa added 12 apiece.
The dramatic finish fittingly punctuated Pola’s splendid run in Iloilo where it went unbeaten through five games after not even winning once in TAT's first leg in Guangdong.
TAT is a newly-founded tournament featuring eight teams from neighboring countries that hopes to be the worthy replacement for the now-defunct Asean Basketball League.
With the tournament's turnout, Passi Mayor Stephen Palmares is looking forward to more legs in the city, saying: “We are honored to host the very first leg of TAT in the country. It was worth it because TAT gave my constituents great entertainment.”
Flipping the script
Pola swept its three games in the elimination round before taking down kababayans Zamboanga Valientes, 82-57, in the semis.
With the spotless run in the second leg, they moved up to middle of the pack in the overall standings with an even 5-5 record.
Leg 1 winner Macau Black Bears still hold the top spot with a 7-3 slate, while the Vanta Black Dragons (6-4) and the Mustangss (6-3) sit at second and third, respectively.
The second leg title should also give the Filipino side, owned by RJ Martinez and supported by Pola Mayor Jennifer M. Cruz, all the confidence and momentum heading into the third leg at its own turf in Mindoro.
An encouraging sign
TAT Executive Director Jacque Ruby, for his part, was grateful for the overwhelming support from fans and to the local government of Passi City which warmly welcomed the league.
“We are thankful and very appreciative of the support of the people of Passi City and its local government. We love the energy of the crowd and they have been very supportive since the start of the tournament here,” said Ruby.
“We are looking forward to bringing more of these exciting and thrilling games as we go on with the third leg in Polo, Mindoro,” he added.
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