The Philippines will continue to have a representative in the ASEAN Basketball League.
The league announced that the Zamboanga Valientes are the eighth team that has committed to take part in its return, set on January 2, 2023.
The Zamboanga City Coliseum will be the home court of the Valientes.
“I’m very happy with this opportunity,” said Valientes owner Junnie Navarro. “Zamboanguenos have been making their mark in numerous sports with Hidilyn Diaz in weightlifting, Eumir Marcial and Jonas Sultan in boxing. It’s about time na sa basketball na rin.
“We’ve had the likes of Mark Barroca, RR Garcia, and Mike Tolomia and if you remember, Alfonso Marque — who is from Zamboanga, is also my uncle. This is for Zamboanga City and our homegrown players.”
The Valientes have previously competed in numerous leagues, including PBA 3×3, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3, NBL-Pilipinas, MPBL, and VisMin Super Cup.
They will join Cooley Bangkok Tigers, Hong Kong Eastern, Louvre Surabaya, Macau Black Bears, NS Matrix, Saigon Heat, and Singapore Slingers.
Previous Filipino teams that competed in the league are the Philippine Patriots, the Pilipinas MX3 Kings, the San Miguel Beermen, and Alab Pilipinas.
