MANILA – Mighty Sports-Philippines completed its conquest of the 31st Dubai International Basketball Championship by defeating Lebanon’s Al Riyadi, 92-81, in the gold medal match on Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
MVP awardee Renaldo Balkman tallied 25 points, nine rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block while Andray Blatche had 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
“I am 35 years old right now, so I am enjoying the moment. I’m still enjoying something I love at my age and what I accomplished throughout my years,” Balkman said.
Filipino-American Mikey Williams finished with 13 points while imports McKenzie Moore and Jelan Kendrick added 11 and 10 points, respectively, with the latter also grabbing six rebounds.
The championship was also historic for the Charles Tiu-mentored Philippines squad. They became the first non-Middle Eastern squad to rule the week-long competition.
“It’s a great feeling. I was there watching my brother (Chris Tiu) in the finals back in 2010 and losing a heartbreaker, and then our semis loss last year. This year it feels nice,” Charles said.
Both teams traded advantage early in the match with the score tied at 32-all before Mighty Sports-Philippines mounted a huge run behind Balkman and Kendrick for a 46-42 halftime edge.
Blatche started strong for the Philippine representatives in the third period for a 50-42 edge before Williams and Ilonggo Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena III drained triples and Balkman attacked inside for its largest lead at 78-67.
Al Riyadi, however, netted consecutive triples to come to within 87-75 but the Philippine representatives went for the kill as a basket by Blatche and free throws by Moore sealed the win for them.
Michael Efevberha paced Al Riyadi with 26 points but was limited to just five points in the second half, while Dwyane Jackson added 20 points./PN
