MANILA – Mighty Sports-Philippines capped off its campaign in the 30th Dubai International Basketball Championship with a resounding 91-76 win over Lebanese club team Homentmen on Saturday night at the Shabab Al Ahli Club in Dubai.
Jett Manuel top-scored with 19 points, Randolph Morris added 11 markers, while Justin Brownlee and Roosevelt Adams contributed 10 points apiece for the Philippine representatives.
The third place finish was quite an achievement for the Charles Tiu-mentored Mighty Sports as it was the highest finish attained by a Philippine team in the annual basketball tournament in Dubai.
From a seesaw battle at the onset of the game, Mighty Sports created distance from its foe in the second quarter behind Adams, Jeremiah Gray, Juan Gomez de Liano and Leonard Santillan for a 42-34 halftime lead.
Mighty Sports continued to widen the advantage in the third period with Manuel gaining his shooting touch and former NBA player Lamar Odom also making his presence felt for a 67-54 lead.
Homentmen was not able to hide its frustration after being tagged with technical fouls and an ejection of Walter Munoz but the Mighty Sports seemed unaffected as it cruised to its largest lead of 21 points on a basket by Troy Rike.
Jerar Hadidan, who was averaging just 5.67 points prior to this game, had a game-high 23 points to pace Homentmen. Elias Rustom chipped in with 20 markers for the Lebanese./PN
