MANILA – District Warriors-Philippines of Quezon City’s 1st District clinched the crown in the Cahaya Lestari Surabaya (CLS) League Under-23 Senior Division after a 75-71 win over the ACBA Tigers Sydney over the weekend in Surabaya, Indonesia.
The Dale Lacorte and Vis Valencia-mentored District Warriors emerged as champions after finishing the single-round robin week-long tournament on top with a 5-1 win-loss slate.
After a tightly contested game, the District Warriors pulled to a 74-65 lead with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers responded with a huge run to cut the deficit to 71-74.
The Tigers still had a chance to tie the score following a turnover by the District Warriors, but they also threw the ball away. A split free throw by the Philippine representatives with two seconds left sealed the championship for them.
Spearheading the District Warriors squad are Ryan Arceo, Danren Nepomuceno, Christian Jake Agoncillo, Christian Ang, Joeben Loria, Yojan Ang, Patrick Buena, and Andrei Diaz.
Completing the Philippine representatives are Jeremiah Guzman, Warren Calara, and JR Lastra, while Carl Lorenz Eserjose served as team coordinator and Quezon City 1st district Congressman Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde as team backer.
“This team is composed of Quezon City’s first district’s top talented players, who were selected in the series of tryouts and the ongoing D1 Basketball League,” Atayde said in a statement.
“They played with a lot of pride, and I am glad that they brought home the championship,” he added. “The Philippines is a basketball-loving nation, and we are more than happy to support them in this overseas campaign.”
District Warriors opened their campaign with a 110-65 domination over Shoot It Dragons of Thailand on Tuesday before suffering a 96-90 defeat to NS Matrix Malaysia the next day.
The Philippine squad then responded with three consecutive victories against BBM CLS Knights of Indonesia (88-74), MBC Kirin Melaka of Malaysia (106-103), and ACBA Tigers Sydney (75-71)./PN
