The Asian Tournament goes back to Passi, Iloilo for another exciting leg pitting some of the local squads, led by host team Grumpy Joe Passi Titans, who will try to hold their own against some of the region’s invaders in the first tournament of the 2025 Season.
Starting Monday until the 27th, the combatants will try to position themselves at a much comfortable spot.
The Titans will be bannered by Henry Iloka, the 6-foot-10 Nigerian, who’s been able to establish himself as one among the finest reinforcements in the country.
Known for his athleticism and versatility playing either with his back to the basket or facing up, Iloka will be backed up old reliable guard Rudy Lingganay and Bernie Bregondo.
Lingganay saw action playing for multiple teams in the PBA, including the Powerade Tigers team that made a Cinderella Run as an eighth-seeded squad, which coasted all the way to the championship round before losing to Talk N Text in the 2011-2012 Philippine Cup.
Bregondo, on the other hand, is a bruising forward, known for helping his former team, Bataan, in making deep run to the playoffs in the 2018-2019 MPBL season.
The three other local squads are the Aces, Chicken Fresh Kicks Gamu Wildcats, Kalmado-KTI Islanders.
Dependable scorer Denzel Wong will lead the charge for the Aces, who will count on veteran players like Alfren Gayosa, Macky Acosta, Monbert Arong, Brian Ilad and Due Lacastesantos among others.
Of course, the Aces, who won multiple leg championships last season, will also pin their hopes on reinforcements Xavier Alexander, FIBA 3×3 veteran Tosh Sesay, Olekxandr Kolchenko, Sergii Pryimak and Marcus Elliott.
Known as the X-Man, the 36-year-old Alexander, who brings a wealth of experience playing in the NBA D-League, the Asean Basketball League and the T1 League in Taiwan, remains serviceable, showcasing his basketball smarts and leadership.
Elliott, a 40-year-old, 6-foot-3 guard, may have lost some of his quickness, but still provides that stability in the backcourt, while Pryimak, a 6-foot-9 veteran of the age-group tournaments in the European Championships, and his fellow Ukranian cager, Kolchenko, provide the toughness up front.
The Islanders will parade a no nonsense unit composed of former St. Benilde Blazer AJ Benson, Hakim Njiasse, a 6-foot-8 center/forward from Olivarez College, US NCAA Division 2 player Adoum Mbang, and big man Mouhamed Faty from Far Eastern University.
Veteran pro campaigner Drian Celada will be the top gun playing for the Wildcats and will be getting much help from grizzled veterans forwards Raymond Matias and Pari Llagas. Their reinforcements include Raymond Miller, who only last year played for the Chi Chi Albayanos Wildcatz.
The 37-year-old 6-foot-9 center will be one among the staples in the tournament and he will be getting support from Liberin 6-foot-5 player Bassieru Sackor.
Four other foreign squads are set to steal the thunder — the Macau Black Bears, the Hong Kong Vanta Black Dragons, Guangzhou Loong Lions and Phuket Whales.
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