Zamboanga completed its sweep of The Asian Tournament Grand Finals, overpowering Macau in the championship match, 81-65, in a packed Zamboanga Coliseum last Saturday night.
The Valientes used a huge 25-15 fourth-quarter run to finally put away the gutsy Black Bears. They led by as much as 20 points, 81-61, after a DeMarcus Cousins slam with less than two minutes left in the contest.
“Until now, I still can’t believe we won. I’m so happy. This was truly our dream because, in the second leg, we reached the semifinals, and in the third leg, we made it to the finals but couldn’t win,” said Zamboanga Valientes head coach Bobidick Delos Santos.
“We gave everything we had in this final leg to achieve our goal for Zamboanga. Thank God we were fortunate enough to win.”
After going unbeaten in the preliminary phase, Zamboanga demolished the Naic Aces in the semifinals before repeating their victory over the Black Bears in the title game, capping off the final and most important leg with a dominant 5-0 winning streak.
American import Rickey Brice Jr. capped off his impressive performance in the final leg with 25 points on a very efficient 12-of-14 shooting from the field, along with 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal, earning the Finals MVP award.
Meanwhile, former NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins contributed 21 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 blocks for the Valientes, who are supported by Col. Ariel Querubin, Major John Dalipe, Cong. Mannix Dalipe, and Cong. Khmer Olaso.
“The experience of DeMarcus made a huge difference,” said Zamboanga Valientes team captain Rudy Lingganay.
“He was the one who spoke during halftime when Macau was leading. He talked to each of us and spoke with Brice. After that, we came out strong. It was a big deal because he is NBA caliber.”
Ex-PBA standout Franky Johnson scored 13 points off the bench, while homegrown star Mike Tolomia chipped in 11 points and 4 assists for the Zamboanga Valientes.
Zamboangueños Lingganay, Denver Cadiz, and Job Alcantara also made valuable contributions for the home squad.
“If you watched the game, our homegrown talents stood out,” said Zamboanga Valientes team owner Junie Navarro.
“Cadiz, though not well-known, truly shined. It’s not just because of the strength of the imports that we won; the locals really stepped up. That was really our objective—to give local talents the opportunity to shine.”
Damian Chong Qui led the way for Macau with 24 points and seven assists, while Mohamed Kone and Tyrone Nesby IV added 19 and 16 points, respectively.
