PH side stays perfect in Dubai

Shabazz Muhammad (in black) drops 37 points in Strong Group’s third straight win. —Contributed photo

Getting big lifts from its seasoned imports, Strong Group-Philippines on Tuesday roared to a third straight win in the 32nd Dubai International Championship, mangling Al Wahda of Syria this time, 87-61, before a huge Filipino gallery at Al Nasr Club in Dubai.

Shabazz Muhammad scattered 37 points that went with 11 rebounds, as he kickstarted the PH offense to a 22-9 lead as the Filipinos never looked back on the way to winning for the third straight game.

The good thing about the result is that Strong Group is continuing to show improvement each night as it girds for a tough assignment against undefeated Dynamo of Lebanon on Wednesday.

“We have been improving every game, and this was our best defensive performance yet,” said coach Charles Tiu, who didn’t mince words praising Muhammad.

“Shabazz carried us offensively, he was great so we kept riding him,” Tiu, who was also the coach of the PH team that won the last edition of this event in 2020, said. “But the defense was solid today and I am happy.”

Renaldo Balkman finished with nine points and 11 rebounds while Fil-Am guard Sedrick Barefield and Jerom Lastimosa had 10 points each.

Groped for form

Assembled less than three weeks before the tournament, Strong Group groped for form in its debut, barely surviving the United Arab Emirates national five, 91-87, as Tiu took out his imports with a little over two minutes left and the PH side leading by 14.

They came out a much better team the following day, destroying Al Nasr of Libya, 93-76, as BJ Andrade stepped up with three early triples before Muhammad and Balkman polished off the enemy in the stretch.

Muhammad, who had a stint in the Philippine Basketball Association like Balkman, is averaging 31.5 points in the last two games for the PH squad, while Balkman has been the team’s leader since the last squad coached by Tiu—Mighty Sports—which swept the last edition of the tournament three years ago before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered sports all over the world.