ZAMBOANGA Valientes shoot for a seat in the Leg 2 finals of The Asian Tournament on Sunday in Passi City, Iloilo.
The Valientes goes up against Pola Pilipinas RPG in the main game of a quadruple header at the City of Passi Arena.
Game time is at 7 p.m.
Valientes stun Leg 1 champs
Zamboanga is coming fresh from a 90-82 upset of Leg 1 champion Macau Blackbears that clinched for the team a berth in the semifinals.
Former Meralco guard Franky Johnson finished with 24 points to lead the Valientes in slamming the door on the Blackbears, just a month removed from topping the inaugural leg held in Guandong, China.
"It is our competitive spirit. We want to make it to the semifinals. Obviously, we’re a Filipino team, we’re here in the Philippines, so we want to put on a show for all the fans out here and represent the country," said Johnson.
The Valientes secured the no. 2 spot in Group A with a 2-1 slate behind top seed Taipei Mustangs, who completed a three-game sweep of the elimination phase.
The Valientes will again bank on the towering trio of Nick Evans, Malick Diouf, and Ricky Brice to counter the Pola Pilipinas trio of Henry Iloka, former Ateneo Blue Eagle Joseph Obasa, and Xavier Alexander, who has been churning out triple-double numbers in the tournament.
Zamboanga natives Mike Tolomia, Rudy Lingganay, and team captain Peter Alfaro are again expected to deliver for the team, which added RR De Leon and John Esperat in its roster during the ongoing leg.
The campaign of the team owned by Junie Navarro is backed by JT Sports Marketing, Go For Gold, Mayor John Dalipe, Cong. Mannix Dalipe, Cong. Kymer Olaso, Taza Coffee Manila, Mike Venezuela, and Col. Ariel Querubin.
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