The Zamboanga Valientes survived an early struggle before pouring the heat against the Macau Black Bears for an 81-65 win and the championship of The Asian Tournament grand finals Saturday night. Four-time NBA All-Star Cousins DeMarcus (211-C/F-1990, college: Kentucky) led a late third quarter run, before import Rickey Brice Jr. (217-C-1997, college: LSUA) took over the final period to break apart a game the Valientes trailed by as many as 11 points earlier Two back-to-back slams by Brice gave the Valientes their first sizeable lead, 71-55, at the halfway mark of the fourth, signalling the start of celebration for l the full house crowd at the Zamboanga Coliseum. Cousins finished with a near triple double of 21 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists, while Brice finished with a team-high 25 points and 10 rebounds to emerge as Finals MVP.
Courtesy of: spin.ph

In the end, it’s the visiting Team Aces, who came out as conquering champions in Leg 2 of The Asian Tournament as they walloped home team Biñan Tatak Gel, 91-79, in the final round on Sunday at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna. Sergii Pryimak (204-F/G-1996, agency: BIG) and Xavier Alexander (196-F-1988, college: Philander Smith) had double-double games and the Aces’ solid bench support proved to be the key in outplaying the Tatak Gel. Prymak registered 23 points and pulled down 15 rebounds while Alexander came away with 13 points and 15 boards as they both solidified their presence on both ends of the court. Offensively, the Aces have team captain Denzel Wong to lead the way with 24 points while the usual steady support cast also delivered – from Emmanuel Ojuola (C) (13), Marcus Elliott (191-G-1984, college: La Tech) (12), and Oleksandr Kolchenko (195-G/F-1988, agency: BIG) (11). “Everyone cheered each other. Everyone wants everybody’s success,” said Wong. “Basically, it’s just teamwork. We’ve won two in a row and now we’re looking to win three in a row. We just have to continue to work hard.” Earlier, Macau Black Bears banked on their Magnificent Eight in outlasting the Vanta Black Dragons of Hong Kong, 105-101. Mohammed Kone (213-C) and Richard Ewing (175-G-1991) combined for 63 points and practically did much of the damage against the Black Dragons.
Courtesy of: theasiantournament.com