Pola Pilipinas sweeps The Asian Tournament’s Passi edition

Pola Pilipinas RPG redeemed themselves in The Asian Tournament’s Passi edition. After a winless campaign in the opening leg of TAT, Pola Pilipinas, who swept its three elimination round games, capped off the Passi leg with a 72-69 triumph over the Taiwan Mustangs at the City of Passi Arena on Monday. Only ahead by one with under a minute left to play, Jayvee Dela Cruz converted a huge triple to extend the country’s representative's lead to four, 70-66, with only 47.5 seconds remaining in the contest, which was enough to fend off their Taiwan-based counterparts. Jose Nouchanthavong (187-G, college: S.Maine) led the JR Cawaling-mentored team with 18 points, while Xavier Alexander posted a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double. Henry Iloka and Joe Obasa were also pivotal in the squad, who were also coached by Jens Knuttel and Leo Avenido, as they added 12 markers each. This propelled Pola — who also defeated the Zamboanga Valientes, 82-57, in the semis — to 5-5 in the standings as they head into Leg 3 in their home turf Mindoro. Leg 1 winner Macau Black Bears still hold the top spot with a 7-3 slate, while Vanta Black Dragons and Taiwan Mustangs sit at the second spot and the third spots with 6-4 and 6-3 records respectively. Meanwhile, TAT executive director Jacque Ruby expressed his gratitude for the overwhelming support from the fans and to the local government of Passi City which warmly welcomed the league. “We are thankful and very appreciative of the support of the people of Passi City and its local government. We love the energy of the crowd and they have been very supportive since the start of the tournament here,” said Ruby. “We are looking forward to bringing more of these exciting and thrilling games as we go on with the third leg in Polo, Mindoro,” he added. On the other hand, Passi Mayor Stephen Palmares is looking forward to more legs in their city. “We are honored to host the very first leg of TAT in the country.
Courtesy of: abs-cbn.com