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| After winning a TAT title with the Taiwan Mustangs, DeMarcus Cousins now looks to help the Zamboanga Valientes deliver the final blow in the season's last stop in Zamboanga City. Wendell Alinea/Zamboanga Valientes |
MANDALUYONG--Former NBA superstar DeMarcus Cousins is now in the Philippines to backstop the Zamboanga Valientes in the final leg of TAT.
Cousins quickly joined Zamboanga in practice following his arrival from Taipei on Thursday night even as the team opened its Saturday training at the Activate Hoop Arena to the media.
"We want to inspire the Filipinos, especially the Zamboanguenos, like we want to show a high-caliber import who can help us win championships and inspire like our local players," team owner Junnie Navarro said during a quick press conference after practice.
Cousins, who won a championship with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League last season, already won it all in TAT as part of a stacked Taiwan Mustangs lineup during the previous leg in Taipei.
Fellow former NBA superstar Dwight Howard joined Cousins on that roster alongside 2020 champion Quinn Cook.
With Cousins, Howard, and Cook playing together, the Mustangs dominated the competition, going 5-0 throughout the entire leg highlighted by a 134-70 blasting of Pola Pilipinas RPG, the champions of the previous two legs, and a 146-100 ripping of the Valientes, interestingly the team where Cousins is heading next.
Fans looking to see Cousins collide with Howard this time at the 12,000-seater Vitaliano Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City will not get their wishes granted, though, as Howard, according to Navarro and Cousins, might not suit up for Taiwan in the TAT finale.
Still, Cousins, who is in the Philippines for the first time ever, is excited to see the Zamboanguenos pack the arena for TAT's final leg, which will begin on Monday night.
"This is new for me. I've never been here before. This is a brand-new experience, so I'm super excited about that. I've heard the fans here are extremely passionate. They love the game of basketball, so that's a cool feeling for me. I can't wait to display my talent, play in front of the crowd, and feed off their energy and their love, and hopefully, I can reciprocate it back in a way that they can receive it," said the 6-foot-10 center, who starred for the Sacramento Kings early in his NBA career.
Save for the arrival of Cousins, Mac Belo, and Geo Chiu and the departure of now-Magnolia player Peter Alfaro, Zamboanga's core remains intact with Malick Diouf, Mike Tolomia, and Rudy Lingganay leading the charge.
Barring any plot twist along the way, the Valientes loom to be the favorites in TAT's final leg, which means Cousins might score another championship right before he turns 34 on Aug. 13.
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