Mighty Sports enters semis after conquering Iraq

“4-0. The squad sweeps the elimination round to clinch top spot in Group B. #GearUpForGreatness” (Photo: Mighty Sports Apparel and Accessories/Facebook)

Despite injury, Justin Brownlee still pushed through and delivered 27 points, but one of the youngest players on the team, University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroon Juan Gomez de Liano lifted his team as well with 21 points (15 of them three-pointers), three steals, two assists, one rebound, and one block. Jeremiah Gray, Randolph Morris, and Jordan Adams worked hard for their team as well, contributing 20 points, 19 points, and 16 points respectively.

Three of Mighty Sports’ opponents contributed double-digits for the Oli Sports, namely De Mario De Mario, Tayloe Taylor, and Karrar Hamzah, but it was not enough to make worth of their sole purpose for flying into Dubai.

Coach Charles Tiu, who is heading the Filipino representatives, shared that he “likes how the boys listened,” stating, “For once, they followed the gameplan, they respected our rules, that’s why we were really able to do a good job defensively.” He added in a mix of English and Filipino, “There are times that we let up, but I think that’s normal in any basketball game,” concluding, “The other teams are good teams also, they will also fight back and do their best, and they did their best, but we were able to hold our ground and able to punch back.”

Through this win, Mighty Sports secured a spot in the Final Four, facing renowned Lebanese League heavyweight Al Riyadi, their first game on Friday, February 8. Going into the next round, Filipino-American guard Jason Brickman tells Spin.ph, “We have the talent to win this tournament, but the playoffs are going to be really tough after the pool games,” adding, “We just have to play together and improve, and learn from these games, and when we get to that elimination, we play our best basketball.”

Mighty Sports Philippines is owned by Alex and Caesar Wongchuking, and is sponsored by SMDC, Go For Gold, Oriental Group, and Healthcube.