Filipino-American Franky Johnson caught fire and powered Zamboanga over Pola Pilipinas, 98-88, to take its second victory in the The Asian Tournament in Guangdong, China on Wednesday, April 24.

A former Meralco Bolt, Johnson displayed an electrifying performance off the bench, scattering 22 points with five triples in just 24 minutes of play which was enough for the Valientes to create a big cushion and spoil Pola Pilipinas' last-ditch effort in the waning minutes.

“I think tonight was a really hard-fought win, obviously this is another Filipino team so they are going to come out here and give us their best,” Johnson said as his team split their outing to 2-2.

“Tonight we really played for pride. I’m glad that we are the Filipino team that came out on top. It was a learning experience for the whole team to continue to move forward,” he added.

Zamboanga’s frontcourt also made huge contributions as Malick Diouf tallied a double-double effort of 16 points and 20 rebounds while Nick Evans scattered 15 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three blocks.

Former San Beda skipper Peter Alfaro and veteran Mike Tolomia registered 11 points each.

Zamboanga made sure to preserve its lead after dominating the first three quarters that saw itself enjoy an 80-48 advantage heading into the payoff period.

Pola Pilipinas stormed back after a 32-10 run in the fourth quarter to trim the gap to just 10, 90-80, with under two minutes remaining.

But the Valientes had enough cushion to fend off Pola and push them to a 0-4 hole.