THE Zamboanga Valientes didn’t get any win in the inaugural Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) but got more than enough cheers from Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial and rising boxing star Jonas Sultan.
The Valientes went winless, yielding to Platinum (7-21), Purefoods (8-21), Limitless (19-21) and TNT (18-21) on Saturday in the first of six legs of the tournament at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The second leg are due next weekend and Marcial is confident his fellow Zamboangueños will get that elusive victory.
“I am encouraging everyone to support our team Viva Zamboanga Valientes,” Marcial said. “We [Sultan and Marcial] both trained with Valientes players and we’re going all out for them.”
“One of the popular players that Zamboangueño fans are cheering for is Das Esa,” World Boxing Organization international bantamweight champion Sultan said.
Esa, a Tausug, started his humble beginning as a varsity player in one of the top universities in Zamboanga. His talent was recognized during the Ramadan Cup the city hosted.
Also on Marcial, the team are Gino Jumaoas, Kyle Neypes, Marc Cardona, JR Cawaling and Rey de Mesa.
The Zamboanga Valientes MLV is owned by Michael Venezuela, Ramon, Ramoncito Talisayon, Wesley Sun and Francis Mark Hernandez. Josef Ramos