By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The first-ever squad from the Philippines to join the Champions League Basketball 3×3 in Australia let everyone know what they’re made of after overcoming adversity to take the championship trophy.
Led by Christopher Concepcion, the Zamboanga Valientes outlasted the Australian trio Clippers, 21-12, during the finals and also became the first from the PH to win the coveted crown.
Backstopped by promising 3×3 player Eric Miraflores and dominant import duo of Duwom Dawan and Adam Kempton, the Filipinos shot the lights out and maintained their defensive poise to flip the local players from Australia.
However, Zamboanga’s path to the finals was also rough and was tested hard by a team from South Sudan.
The Valientes were trailing before Miraflores was able to feed an open Dawan and converted on a deuce to force overtime and eventually grab the huge win.
As soon as the whistle was blown for the championship match, it did not take long for the Filipinos to score, firing bombs after bombs off the hot hands of Concepcion and Miraflores.
“We are dedicating this victory to Zamboanga and Zamboanguenos all over the world. We proved we can excel against foreign competition in 3×3,” said team co-owner Junnie Navarro.
