FILE – Dwight Howard and the Strong Group Athletics team in the e Dubai International Basketball Championship. –SGA FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines—Strong Group Athletics (SGA) marched into the finals of 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship after defeating Beirut, 94-72, at Al Nasr Club on Sunday morning (Manila time).
The Philippine side was spearheaded by import Dwight Howard, who finished with a monster double-double to the tune of 26 points and 20 rebounds.
Prior to their semis match, SGA had already defeated Beirut on Tuesday, 95-73, but this time, the win got coach Charles Tiu’s men a ticket to the tourney’s finalé.
SCHEDULE: Strong Group at Dubai International Championship
Helping the NBA champion on offense for the Philippine side were Kevin Quiambao, Justine Baltazar and Jordan Heading who scored 18, 15 and 10, respectively.
Much like in the pool phase bout, Dar Tucker was the main man for Beirut with 22 points and seven rebounds. Alexander Saleh turned in a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds but to no avail.
SGA, as a squad, was lethal on both ends of the floor with a blistering 51 percent shooting clip from the field.
Tiu’s wards weren’t slack on defense either as they forced Beirut to 10 team fumbles which resulted in 17 points off turnovers for SGA.
Waiting for the Philippine side in the final clash is Al Riyadi, which defeated Al-Ahly Tripoli in its own bracket, 83-73.