MANILA, Philippines – Fielding a high-profile import, the Zamboanga Valientes made the most out of the experience.
The Valientes treasured their time playing alongside former NBA star and Olympic gold medalist DeMarcus Cousins as they completed a title sweep in The Asian Tournament (TAT) at the Zamboanga Coliseum.
Hampered by a minor injury to start the tournament, Cousins returned in time for the playoffs and played a leadership role in Zamboanga’s 81-65 romp of the Macau Black Bears in the TAT finals.
“The experience of [playing with] DeMarcus made a huge difference,” said Zamboanga Valientes team captain and former PBA player Rudy Lingganay.
Lingganay bared that Cousins, who last played in the NBA during the 2021-2022 season, spoke to the team at the final game’s halftime, rallying the team to a comeback victory.
“He was the one who spoke during halftime. Macau was leading, and he talked to each of us. He spoke with (Rickey) Bryce. After that, we came out strong. It was a big deal because he is NBA caliber,” he said.
Cousins finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 blocks for the Valientes, while other import Rickey Bryce Jr. had 25 big points on a very efficient 12-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with 10 rebounds and 2 blocks, en route to the Finals MVP award.
The Valientes unleashed a 25-15 fourth-quarter rally to put away the gutsy Black Bears for good, building a lead as big as 20 points, 81-61, after a Cousins slam with less than two minutes left in the contest.
Zamboanga finished the tournament with a clean 5-0 slate, delivering to the expectation in Cousins’ first tour of duty in the Philippines.
While foreign players did most of the heavy lifting, Valientes’ team owner Junnie Navarro commended their local core, which, he said, gravitated towards the fine play of Cousins and Bryce.
“If you watched the game, our homegrown talents stood out,” said Valientes team owner Junie Navarro.
“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,” Navarro added.
Former Meralco Bolts draft pick Franky Johnson added 13 points for the team, while Zamboanga native Mike Tolomia added 11 points and 4 assists in front of the roaring home crowd.
Other Zamboangueños in the lineup were Lingganay, Denver Cadiz, and Job Alcantara, adding a homegrown touch to a team that also featured former UAAP MVP Malick Diouf and ex-collegiate stars Mac Belo and Geo Chiu. – Rappler.com