Valientes near Terrafirma deal

The Zamboanga Valientes inched closer to their dream of playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) after their talks to purchase the franchise of Terrafirma started to gain ground.

Valientes team owner Junnie Navarro said entering Asia’s oldest professional basketball league would be a huge step for the club after figuring prominently in various international competitions.

Should the Valientes and Terrafirma complete the turnover, the former is estimated to make its PBA debut by October.

Navarro and other top Valientes officials, in fact, already met PBA commissioner Willie Marcial and Terrafirma team governor Bobby Rosales to personally signify his intention to join them.

Also present during the Valientes’ meeting at the PBA office in Quezon City were Kings Asia Pacific president Cory Navarro, and Crewsharp chief executive officer Trevor Crewe.

“Owning a team in the PBA would yet be another milestone for the city and people of Zamboanga. Big things are coming for Zamboanga basketball. Arriba Zamboanga! Viva Valientes!” Navarro said in a statement.

Terrafirma is playing its final season in the PBA as it announced its sale last February.

Initially, Starhorse Shipping Lines was supposed to buy the Dyip’s franchise but the deal never materialized after it failed to provide some crucial requirements needed for the sale to be finalized.

With that, three new squads expressed their interest to take over Terrafirma with Zamboanga on the verge of closing the deal.

The Valientes are no strangers to competition as they represented the country in various international tournaments.

Zamboanga competed in the ASEAN Basketball League in 2023 where it tapped the services of two-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Mario Chalmers and finished in sixth place with a 7-7 win-loss record.