Zamboanga booted out Guangdong leg champion Macau, 90-82, to secure the second seed in Group B and punch their ticket to the semifinals of the second leg of The Asian Tournament on Friday at the City of Passi Arena in Iloilo.
The Valientes almost crumbled in the end but managed to pull out all the stops needed to come out on top and grab the No. 2 spot with a 2-1 record behind the top-ranked Taipei Mustangs, who finished the group phase with a perfect 3-0 slate.
“We are very happy that we got the win tonight because this is a knockout game, a do-or-die game. Whoever wins advances to the semis. We are very happy to be entering the semis. In the first leg, we came up short. So this is a blessing for us,” said Zamboanga head coach Bobedick delos Santos.
Despite missing two of their top stars Damian Chongqui and Momo Kone, the Black Bears still put up a fight after Kei Long Leong scored six consecutive points, including a rare four-point play, in an 8-0 run to slice the Valientes’ 14-point advantage to just six, 77-83, with 2:21 left in the match.
However, Zamboanga’s composure prevailed as veterans Rickey Brice, Nick Evans, Mike Tolomia, and Frankie Johnson delivered crucial buckets and took turns fending off the Black Bears to complete the win.
Johnson, a former Meralco Bolt, scored a game-high 24 points built on four triples to go along with two assists and three steals to lead the Valientes, who is also supported by Col. Ariel Querubin.
“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.
Malick Diouf added 12 points and seven rebounds. Evans tallied a double-double of 11 points and 13 boards, while Brice registered 11 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Zamboangueños Alfaro and Tolomia steadied the ship for the Philippine-based club.
The former, who serves as the team’s captain, had 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, while the latter chipped in 10 markers and six dimes.
“It was a tough win for us because this tournament is highly competitive, knowing that they allow three imports at the same time. Macau has been in the international scene for many years already as well but my teammates and I took it as an opportunity to rise above the challenge with the help of the game plan given to us by the coaches,” said Alfaro, a former San Beda Red Lion.
Other homegrown standouts such as Rudy Lingganay and Job Alcantara also came up huge for the Valientes, who are backed by Cocogen, Midas, Go for Gold, Arena Plus, Midas, MLV, Casino Plus, JT Sports and Taza Manila.
On the other hand, Tyrone Nesby’s 38-point explosion went down the drain as Macau dropped to the classification phase with a 1-2 record.
The Valientes will face the top-ranked squad from Pool A in the knockout semis on Sunday, 7:00 PM at the same venue.
