ZAMBOANGA CITY — Zamboanga Peninsula asserted its might as it edged crosstown rival Zamboanga Valientes, 92-90, in the VisMin Cup Invitational tournament Thursday at the Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum here.
Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro outplayed Misamis Oriental, 83-75, in the other match.
Jerrick Canada delivered a solid all-around performance, coming away with 20 points, five rebounds and 11 assists.
With former National Basketball Association players Mario Chalmers and Renaldo Balkman out, Henry Iloka flexed his muscles to lift ZamPen to a thrilling victory.
Iloka came away with 27 points, 16 rebounds and three steals for ZamPen, which also defeated the Valientes in the VisMin Super Cup finals last season.
University of the Visayas standout Tosh Sesay and former San Beda University guard James Kwekuteye took over for the Valientes, but their efforts were not enough as Mark Dollogon converted a floater in the final 18 seconds to seal the victory for ZamPen.
It was the second straight victory by ZamPen in this tournament headed by commissioner Cris Bautista.
