By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno/PNA
MANILA — Mighty Sports scored its second win in the Dubai International Basketball Championship after downing the United Arab Emirates’ national team, 86-78, at the Shahad Al-Ahli Club in Dubai early Sunday (Philippine Time).
After a tight first quarter, Mighty Sports broke loose in the second quarter, starting the period on a 12-2 run to open a 41-25 lead.
The squad was on course of giving UAE a bad beat after extending its lead to as high as 20, 78-58, after the third period.
However, the host team came alive in the fourth period, outscoring Mighty Sports, 17-6, in the first 7:07 of the period to cut the lead down to nine, 84-75, with 3:53 on the clock.
Mighty recovered by keeping UAE scoreless for a little over two minutes as Justin Brownlee finally capped the win with a slam dunk inside the last two minutes.
Randolph Morris led Mighty Sports with 20 points and six rebounds, while Brownlee and Roosevelt Adams added 18 markers apiece.
Lamar Odom went scoreless in 13 minutes of action.
With the win, Mighty Sports already surpassed its dismal 1-5 showing in its maiden campaign in 2017.
Rashed Al-Zaabi put up 19 points for UAE, which made its debut in the tournament.
Mighty Sports will next face Homentmen, 91-77 winner over American University in Dubai on Saturday night, early Monday (Philippine Time).
Box Scores:
Mighty Sports 86 — Morris 20, Brownlee 18, Adams 18, Gray 9, De Liano 9, Brickman 4, Gutang 4, Santillan 2, Banal 2, Odom 0, Wongchuking 0, Rike 0.
UAE 78 — Al Zaabi 19, Alshabibi 18, Abdullah 14, Khalifa 8, Issa 8, Khalfan 7, Ibrahim 2, Al Nuaimi 2, Ndiaye 0.
Quarterscores: 29-24, 49-36, 78-58, 86-78
