Top Zamboanga athletes back Valientes in ABL Invitational campaign

MANILA, Philippines – Top Zamboangueño athletes have united to fully support the campaign of their hometown squad Zamboanga Valientes in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) Invitational 2023, which starts Tuesday at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.

Magnolia’s Mark Barroca and Converge’s Mike Tolomia from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) together with Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist middleweight boxer Eumir Felix Marcial and bantamweight pug Jonas Sultan are also encouraging fellow Filipinos to support the Valientes.

“The Zamboanga Valientes are all primed up because of the encouraging messages they received from fellow top Zamboangueño athletes like Barroca, Tolomia, Marcial and Jonas,” team owner Junnie Navarro said.

“This is very meaningful to all Zamboangueños since this is the first time that they will be representing the country in the ABL,” Navarro added. “Before the Valientes flew to Singapore, Barroca appeared during the team’s last practice session last week.”

Marcial, a reigning Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, expressed his support to the Valientes while training for his upcoming fight early this year in Las Vegas, while Sultan will fly to Singapore to personally cheer for the team.

The Valientes will take on the Louvre Surabaya Indonesia in their first game at 6 p.m.

For his part., Zamboanga City Mayor John Dalipe also voiced his support to the Valientes, which is owned by Cory and Junnie Navarro, and MLV Accounting Mike Venezuela.

The game will be shown live at IBT Divisoria and the Golden Boys Gym in Zamboanga.

American imports Antonio Hester, Will Deng, Ryan Smith and heritage player Jeremy Arthur will reinforce the squad. Former Gilas players JR Cawaling and Kemark Cariño, and homegrown players Rudy Lingganay, Jeff Bernardo and Denver Cadiz are likewise part of the team.

The Valientes are coached by Ateneo De Zamboanga mentor Bobedick delos Santos, who has coached successful players like San Beda star Peter Alfaro and Rhayann Amsali, Ateneo’s Forthsky Padrigao, and FEU’s Jens Knuttel and Tolomia.

Zamboanga City has produced talented point guards like RR Garcia, Padrigao, Barroca and Tolomia, among others. Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, and cue artists Cheska Centeno and Roberto Gomez also hail from the city.