POWERHOUSE Zamboanga Valientes MLV scored back-to-back triumphs to keep their semifinal hopes alive in the Asean Basketball League Invitational 2023 fourth leg on Wednesday at the Nguyen Du Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
Led by new recruit Renaldo Balkman, the Zamboanga Valientes cruised to an 83-69 win over Louvre Surabaya last February 13, before beating Hong Kong Eastern, 71-65, during Valentine’s Day to improve their win-loss record to 7-6.
Balkman exploded for 28 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out six assists in his debut against Surabaya, while he posted 27 points, 14 rebounds and got four steals against HK Eastern to give the Valientes the needed lift to reach the next phase.
Former NBA champion and Miami Heat starting playmaker Mario Chalmers, who rested for one game against Surabaya, returned with 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals against Hong Kong.
“We are very happy that we got the services of Renaldo Balkman. The timing of his arrival is great and we really need him,” Zamboanga Valientes MLV co-owner Junnie Navarro said.
“Everybody is fired up with Balkman. He provided us the energy in those two games.”
Valientes, also co-owned by Michael Venezuela of MLV and supported by Go for Gold’s Jeremy Go, is one of the most popular squads among the eight teams in the tournament for bringing exciting imports and showing the Philippine brand of basketball.
“Most basketball fans especially our fellow Filipinos are very happy everytime the Valientes play in the four circuits,” Navarro added.
Zamboanga Valientes will be facing Singapore Slingers next on Thursday night at the same venue.
Meanwhile, the Zamboanga Valientes will be playing in the VisMin Open Cup Championship on February 21 to 25.