Sultan, Marcial back ZC Valientes in PBA 3x3

MANILA, Philippines — Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial and WBO Intercontinental bantamweight champion Jonas Sultan will give their full support to the Zamboanga Valientes MLV team in the PBA 3x3 starting Saturday.

Both Marcial and Sultan hail from Zamboanga and cross-trained with the Valientes before their successful stints in Tokyo and New York City, respectively.

The Valientes will be fielding homegrown talents led by the ever-popular Das Esa.

Dubbed the "Tausug Hero," Esa was a varsity player in one of the top universities in Zamboanga who became widely known for his heroics in the city's Ramadan Cup.

Esa's career flourished when he played for the Zamboanga Valientes in the MPBL in 2018.

Driven by Sultan's return to the elite level and Marcial's strong showing, Esa vows to help the Valientes excel in the PBA 3x3.

Apart from fellow Zamboanguenos Gino Jumaoas and Kyle Neypes, helping Esa achieved his dream are Mac Cardona, JR Cawaling and Rey de Mesa.

Another Zamboanga Valientes MLV team ruled the Champions League basketball Australia 3x3 last January and Esa and company will try to extend that winning tradition to the county. The team is owned by Michael Venezuela, Ramoncito Agustin Talisayon, and supported by the Navarro Family.

For Marcial and Sultan, however, the result of Zamboanga's foray into the PBA hardly matters.  They will cheer on the Valientes forever.