THE Zamboanga Valientes kicked off their campaign in The Asian Tournament on a rousing note by beating the Ningbo Bulls, 82-75, in the opener of the new regional meet late Friday night in Guandong, China.
Zamboanguenos Rudy Lingganay, Peter Alfaro, Das Esa and Mike Tolomia teamed up with Nick Evans and Frankie Johnson in spearheading the Valientes past the host team.
Alfaro, the former team captain of reigning NCAA men’s basketball champion San Beda, and Lingganay had 10 points each, and together with Johnson and Evans, repeatedly obliterated the Bulls’ zone with timely outside baskets.
Evans, who previously suited up for Rain or Shine in last year’s Jones Cup, finished with a high of 17 points, while Tolomia added five.
Team owner Junie Navarro noted the historical win pulled off by the Valientes, who played and beat a Chinese team for the very first time.
Valientes meet Mustangs next
The Valientes return to the court on Saturday as they aim for win no. 2 against the Taiwan Mustangs.
The Mustangs lost their debut game, 96-74, against the Vantablack Dragons.
Curiously, the Taipei-based team is led by former San Miguel teammates Alex Cabagnot and Rashawn McCarthy and reinforced by 7-foot-6 ex-Alab Pilipinas import Sam Deguara.
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