Strong Group exits Dubai tourney with shock semis loss to Tunisia

STRONG Group Athletics bowed out of the 34th Dubai International Basketball Championship as its comeback bid fell short against the Tunisia National Team 68-63 in the wee hours of Sunday (Philippine time) at the Al Nasr Club in the United Arab Emirates. Trailing by as many as 16 points in the third period, the Filipino ball club got to within two with a minute and two seconds remaining in the ball game following a Mikey Williams three-pointer. The boys of coach Charles Tiu forced a turnover on the next possession, giving SGA plenty of time to complete the comeback. Chris McCullough (208-F-1995, college: Syracuse), however, missed two attempts on the ensuing SGA possession which would've either tied or put them ahead. A split from Omar Abada with 17 seconds remaining left a window open for SGA to send the game into overtime but a Abando Rhenz (188-SG-1998) miss would put an end to a promising campaign from the Frank Lao-owned ball club in Dubai. After losing the finals in the same tournament to Al-Riyadi at the buzzer last year following the 48-year-old Ismail Abdelmoneim’s game winning three, the Filipino ball club once again fell victim to a veteran, this time in the form of 44-year-old forward Radhouane Slimane (204-F-1980). Slimane powered the Tunisian breakaway in the second quarter, scoring 12 of his game high 23 points in that stretch as the North African side started to create separation. That lead woud slowly be eaten up by the Pinoy side as McCullough, Williams and Brickman Jason (183-G-1991, college: LIU Brooklyn, agency: Interperformances) started hitting their shots in the payoff period. Unfortunately, Strong Group couldn't complete what would've been a wild comeback. DeMarcus Cousins led the way for SGA with 18 points and 15 rebounds while McCullough also added 18 but their shooting left a lot to be desired, combining to shoot just 36 percent from the field. No other player breached double-digits for Strong Group as Brickman added seven points and six assists while Williams added six.
Courtesy of: spin.ph