DAVAO CITY — As the fifth seed in the 2020 Chooks-to-Go/MPBL Lakan playoffs, Zamboanga-Family’s Brand Sardines should not have had homecourt advantage in the first round.
However, Zamboanga felt something close to that Monday afternoon at the Rizal Memorial Colleges Gym here.
An hour before Zamboanga’s quarterfinals tilt versus Batangas-Tanduay tipped off — and approximately four hours before home team Davao Occidental-Cocolife took to the floor — the gymnasium was already full of spectators. After all, Davaoeño Alvin Pasaol was about to take to the floor for Zamboanga.
“Alam naman natin si Alvin, maraming umiidolo sa kanya sa Davao,” shared Zamboanga head coach Britt Reroma.
Pasaol’s glow rubbed off on his teammates, with Davao fans treating Zamboanga as one of their own.
With the crowd cheering them on, the Family’s Brand Sardines-backed squad raced to a strong start with Pasaol leading the charge.
And when things got close late, Zamboanga mustered enough strength to fend off Batangas, eventually taking a 78-74 victory and getting a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
“Ang sarap ng feeling na kahit wala kaming homecourt [advantage] sa series na ito, naramdaman namin ito dito sa hometown ko,” expressed the 24-year-old Pasaol, who had 17 points, five rebounds, two steals, one block, and an assist in the contest.
“Laking pasasalamat ko sa mga kababayan ko rito dahil kung wala sila, siguro hindi namin nakuha ito.“
“It really helped us a lot. The fans were really a huge boost to us,” added Reroma.
But come Friday, Pasaol and Zamboanga will head to hostile territory as the series moves to the Batangas City Coliseum.
For his part, the burly 6-foot-4 forward — who is also part of the 3×3 national team — is ready for what the Batangueños have in store for them.
“Dapat maging ready kami sa kahit anong ibabato nila sa amin. Alam namin na passionate ‘yung fans nila,” said Pasaol.
“At least dahil sa laro na ito, nagkapuhanan kami heading into that game.”
Story by Justin Valencia
Photo by Nicks Hernandez
