By Adrian Stewart Co

Mighty Sports-Philippines remains undefeated in the 30th Dubai International Basketball Championship following their 96-89 victory over defending Lebanese Basketball League champions Homenetmen Beirut earlier this week at the Shabab Al-Ahli Club in Dubai, UAE.

Randolph Morris and Justin Brownlee delivered their usual numbers with the former scoring 24 points while the latter offered 19 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists for the Philippine squad.

Filipino-American Jeremiah Gray also had a strong showing with 24 points, including three triples, along with eight rebounds and three assists.

“We’re a young team in a sense; we haven’t been together for so long, but I like the composure they showed,” Mighty Sports-Philippines head coach Charles Tiu said. “That’s why at stretches, even when they made runs, I just let them play.”

After handily winning their first two games, the Philippine side faced a tight battle against the Lebanese team with the former holding to a narrow 25-18 lead after the first period and, later, 51-44 at the half.

Mighty Sports-Philippines gained an advantage in the third period as pulled to a 77-63 lead but the Lebanese side launched a huge run to come to as close as 92-89 but four free throws from Brownlee sealed the win for the Philippine team./ASC, WDJ