Two Filipino-American players will back up retired National Basketball Association star Lamar Odom and Ginebra resident import Justin Brownlee in the Mighty Sports-Philippine team seeing action in the 30th Dubai International Basketball Championship on Feb. 1 to 9.
Jeremiah Gray and Roosevelt Adams will also join forces with Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) import Randolph Morris, ex-Ginebra player Jett Manuel, Gab Banal, Joseph Yeo, University of the Philippines playmaker Juan Gomez de Liaño, La Salle forward Santi Santillan and College of St. Benilde’s Justin Gutang.
Last year, the 6-foot-4 Gray of Dominican University of California set a single-season scoring record in the US NCAA Division II with 509 points, a feat that secured him a spot in the All-PacWest Third Team.
The 6-foot-5 Adams, on the other hand, will firm up the backcourt and has a good outside touch.
“We are hopeful the two Fil-Ams can easily adapt to the system of coach Charles (Tiu),” said Mighty Sports co-team owner Alex Wongchuking.
Tiu is still looking for another big man to fortify their frontcourt rotation knowing fully well they will be up against taller and heftier rivals.
It will be the second Dubai stint of the Healthcube and Go For Gold-backed squad after the 2017 edition where it won just once in six games. The team missed last year’s tournament.
The 39-year-old Odom was supposed to play in the CBA last year but as posted in his Twitter account, “didn’t feel that I was physically where I wanted to be yet. I needed more time to recover from my multiple strokes and hearts attacks.”
The two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers last played for the New York Knicks in 2014.
The following year, Odom was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel with “cocaine and opiates” discovered in his system. He woke up from a coma four days later.
Brownlee reinforced the Ginebra team that won the PBA Commissioner’s Cup last year.