QC District 1 Warriors PH wins 2024 CLS Cup
The Quezon City District Warriors Philippines wins the Mutant 2024 Cahaya Lestari Surabaya (CLS) Cup International Invitational League Under-23 Senior Basketball Boys Division crown in Indonesia on Saturday, June 22, 2024. Contributed photo
The Quezon City District Warriors Philippines took home the Mutant 2024 Cahaya Lestari Surabaya (CLS) Cup International Invitational League Under-23 Senior Basketball Boys Division crown from Indonesia.
The team fought for the flag and country and triumphed in the 2024 CLS Cup championship held in Indonesia last Saturday, June 22.
Coached by Dale Lacorte and Vis Valencia, the District Warriors raced to a 74-65 lead with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the ACBA Tigers Sydney (ATS) countered with a huge run to cut the deficit to 74-71.
Quezon City 1st District Rep. Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde said it was a tightly contested championship game. He noted that the Filipino players scored double figures during the game.
“I salute this team for showing the world how Filipinos respond to pressure and adversity,” said Atayde, who provided support for the Quezon City District Warriors Philippines.
“Hindi sila bumigay, hindi sila bumitaw — ‘yan ang pusong Pinoy,” he added.
The ATS had a chance to tie the score following a turnover by the District Warriors, but an inspired defense by the Filipinos forced their opponent to cough up the ball and gave the eventual champions the final possession. A split free throw by the Filipinos with two seconds left sealed the game for the Filipino cagers.
Atayde, who is a member of the Youth and Sports Development Committee in the House of Representatives, said all players and coaches worked cohesively as a unit to finish the single-round robin weeklong international tournament on top with a 5-1 win-loss record.
The members of the Quezon City District Warriors Philippines are Custodio Lastra Jr., Christopher Ang, Christian Jake Agoncillo, Warren Calara, Jermiah Guzman, Ryan Arceo, Danren Nepomuceno, Joeben Loria, Patrick Buena, and Andrei Diaz; and team coordinator Carl Lorenz Eserjose
The players were selected during a series of tryouts in the D1 Basketball League launched by Atayde, who also supports other sports such as fencing, football, and volleyball, among other sporting disciplines.
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