Valientes go out on a high by taking down reigning champ Beirut

January 29 ------ JUST when the MLV-Zamboanga Valientes looked down and out, the Philippine representative delivered a sizzling 83-72 beatdown of defending champion Sports Club-Beirut at the 35th Dubai International basketball Invitational.

Refusing to roll over in a non-bearing game, the Valientes unleashed a balanced attack led by Terrence Romeo, Bryan Manuel, and towering import Sam Deguara to avoid getting shut out in the tournament. Unlike in their first three games that all ended in losses, the Valientes this time maintained their composure on both ends of the court.

The Lebanese tried to pull away in the second quarter by leading 40-33. But the Filipinos relied on their steady backcourt and finally made good use of their size, anchored by 7-6 Deguara and 7-0 Greg Slaughter to mount a furious comeback. Through the efforts of Romeo, Deguara and Barkley Ebona, they were able to regain the upperhand, 41-40 with 1:57 left in the first half. It was in the third canto however when the Valientes finally displayed their team’s true worth, by establishing their biggest of the ballgame - and the whole duration of this year’s Dubai meet - at 61-49 with 2:42 left. From there on, the Valientes didn’t look back, leaving the Lebanese side scrambling.

Rebounding proved the key. The Valientes crushed Beirut off the boards, 56-29, something they never did against Club Africain-Tunisia, Al Samarah- Syria and Al Ahli Tripoli-Libya. Despite some brief rallies mounted by Lebanese imports Albert English and La Traviyon Jackson and locals Joseph Zaloum and Jean Luc Makhlouf, the Filipinos showed remarkable resilience to nail a victory. "We finally made it. We gave it our all and showed everyone what this team is capable of,” Slaughter told SPIN.ph shortly after the game. “Even though this game didn't technically count for us, we went all out to prove what we’re capable of. It’s a bummer, though — we were just a few days late in finally finding our rhythm,” he added.

The win spoiled Beirut's chances for a high seed in the playoffs, as Club Africain will topbill Group B with a 3-1 win-loss card. Deguara topscored for the Valientes with 21 while getting solid support from Romeo, fellow imports Anthony Bennett and Malik Diouf, Bryan Manuel, Slaughter, and Ebona who combined for 50 points. “Our three-point shooting wasn’t there; we shot a poor 7-of-26. But the good thing is our big guys controlled the board while disorienting our opponent’s defense,” said Valientes coach RJ Argamino. “Aside from our defense, we shared the ball well and the guys were very patient on offense. Terrence and Sam were superb. They made the big difference for us. Kudos to the other guys too,” he added.

English paced the Lebanese with 19 points but curiously did not play alongside fellow reinforcement Jackson in the fourth period. Meanwhile, Zamboanga team owner Junnie Navarro this early told SPIN.ph that they will definitely make a return stint to the Dubai meet next year, promising to come up with a better line-up and preparations. “I like the composition of the team now. I think we will just need some retooling then add a few weeks more weeks of training,” he said. “Kitang kita mo naman siguro kung ngayon nagsimula ang tournament, a week later than the schedule, baka ibang Valientes ang napanood natin. I feel sad that our conditioning and jelling showed up late. But I am happy to finally feel how it is to win here in Dubai,” Navarro added.

Source: spin.ph