7-foot-3 Thabeet beefs up Mighty 5

NBA veteran Hasheem Thabeet will be planing in on Sunday to bolster Mighty Sports’ campaign in the Dubai International Basketball Championship slated Feb. 16 to 25.

The 7-foot-3 Tanzanian, who was drafted ahead of Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Houston’s James Harden in 2009, toiled with Memphis, Oklahoma, Portland and Houston, and last played in the NBA D-league.

According to Mighty Sports coach Charles Tiu, Thabeet had requested to come earlier than the team’s two other imports to acclimatize to the country’s weather.

“I was excited to hear about that because it shows how professional he is,” said the former assistant coach of Gilas Pilipinas. “Hopefully we can put him through some individual workouts before we even start team practices.”

Though reedy at 261 pounds, Thabeet will be an imposing presence for Mighty Sports at the middle, being a solid blocker.

“He will provide us a huge defensive presence down low and hopefully some inside scoring, too,” added Charles, younger brother of Rain or Shine guard Chris Tiu.

Tiu will be assisted by University of the Philippines mentor Bo Perasol.

Former Ginebra import Justin Brownlee and Dominic McGuire are arriving on Monday in time for the team’s official practice.

Former collegiate superstars Jeron Teng and Kiefer Ravena and two-time PBA MVP Willie Miller will likewise join the team.