Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Lamar Odom is still far from where he wants to be as he makes his return to basketball after a long hiatus.
On Tuesday, however, Odom showed a glimpse of what he could still do despite his age and the lack of basketball activity the past several years.
The two-time NBA champion buried the game-winning 3-pointer to lift Mighty Sports Philippines over PBA powerhouse Magnolia, 98-97, in a tune-up game at Ronac Art Center.
The 39-year-old Odom, who last played in Spain back in 2014, hit the clutch triple to give Mighty Sports its first lead of the game, 98-96, with 44 seconds left.
His teammates went berserk on the bench after the big basket but Odom, who played 14 seasons in the NBA, just shrugged it off.
“Nah. I mean, I was wide open. Finally, I was able to hit a shot,” Odom, who had seven points, said. “I was wide open but it was a big shot, it was at the right time I guess.”
Odom’s bucket completed Mighty Sports’ comeback after facing a double-digit deficit early.
Justin Brownlee led Mighty with 25 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, while big man Randolph Morris had 24.
“I think we showed a lot of progress today. I think today we played together as a team,” Brownlee said. “I like how we ended the game. We played with a lot of energy.”
University of the Philippines guard Juan Gomez Di Liaño added 16 points while going up against the Hotshots’ plethora of star guards in Paul Lee, Mark Barroca and PJ Simon.
Mighty Sports improved to 2-0 in exhibition matches after defeating Blackwater recently.
The team leaves for Dubai on Thursday then, play right away less than 24 hours later to begin its campaign in the Dubai International Basketball Tournament.
Rodney Brondial and Ian Sangalang scored 15 and 12 points, respectively for the Hotshots, who are coming off a championship in the 2018 Governors’ Cup.
Magnolia makes its season debut on Sunday night against TNT at Mall of Asia Arena.