Mighty Sports defeat Blackwater Elite, 106-99, on a tune-up game Saturday night at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Imports Lamar Odom and Justin Brownlee had a steady showing as the team ramp up preparations for the upcoming 30th Dubai International Basketball Championship on February.
Odom chipped in a modest five points on 2-of-5 shooting but flashed his well-known versatility especially his passing ability and basketball IQ.
The 6-foot-5 Brownlee flexed his might as he led a second quarter that put Mighty Sports ahead, 44-34, and never looked back.
Center Randolph Morris also saw some action in the game and made his presence felt in the defensive end while showcasing a soft shooting touch from mid range.
During the second half, Mighty guards Juan Gomez de Liano, Jett Manuel, Jeremiah Gray and Roosevelt Adams pushed the pace leading to a 20-point lead, 90-77.
But Blackwater pulled close to within six points, 94-100, in the last three minutes of the fourth period before Mighty pulled away towards a six-point win.
Nevertheless, head coach Charles Tiu was satisfied with his team’s performance throughout the game but noted they have to improve their defense in order to effectively go up against their opponents in the Middle East tourney.
“I’m happy with the result but there is still a lot of work to do,” said Tiu. “It’s far from where we want to be, since we will be going up against bigger teams in Dubai. But to be honest, it’s better than what I expected.”
The Philippine representative team is scheduled to leave for Dubai on the 31st, in time for the nine-day tournament tipping off on February 1.
Mighty Sports-Philippines is co-owned by brothers Caesar and Alexander Wongchuking, backed by Healthcube, Go For Gold, Oriental Group and SMDC.
