Mighty Sports-Philippines suffered a meltdown late in the game that proved costly as they suffered a 95-92 heartbreak to Sagesse Club in the 2017 Dubai Invitational Basketball Tournament, Monday morning Manila time.
Their three-point loss to the Lebanese ball club marked their third defeat in a row, after having lost their opening match against AS Sale and yesterday morning’s assignment against the Egyptian National Team.
Justin Brownlee led the Filipinos once more with 27 points on 10-of-18 from the floor, but it was Kiefer Ravena who stepped up big time, scoring 25 points by shooting 9-of-14 along with four dimes. Dominic McGuire chipped in 10.
Mighty Sports’ breakdown happened in the final frame. They had been leading by as much as seven, 78-71, but Sagesse displayed their comeback skills as the lag became a six-point lead, 90-84, through a 19-6 spurt with less than five minutes left.
Come the final stretch, free throws proved to be both teams’ weapons. Shots by Terrel Stoglin sent Sagesse up, 94-90, but Brownlee also went perfect from the line to lift Philippines by two, 94-92, with 31.4 seconds to go.
Sagesse then wasted the remaining time to halt a possible Mighty comeback. Stoglin pulled up from deep, but he missed. However, Marcus Douthit failed to grab the ball, and Sagesse were able to grab the miss.
Mighty Sports were then forced to foul, sending Mohammad Ibrahim to the line. His split charities gave the Filipinos a glimmer of hope, but Beau Belga’s game-tying three missed its mark, aiding Sagesse to reign victorious.
Stoglin waxed hot on offense in Monday’s game, leading all scorers with 46 points on 12-of-21 shooting spiked by nine triples. Todd Obrien and Mike Efebra gave ample support by producing 18 and 17 markers, respectively.
The Philippine contingent only shot 49 percent, hitting just 33 of their 68 attempts. Their shooting percentage was a far cry from Sagesse, who shot an excellent 53 percent, converting 32 of their 60 tries.
However, Mighty Sports’ bench provided better support, outscoring Sagesse’s bench 52-10. But Sagesse were able to convert Mighty Sports’ miscues to points better, 27-22.
Mighty Sports will look to end their skid as they face Homenetmen Beirut B.C. tomorrow, Tuesday, February 21, still at 1:00 in the morning Manila time.
The Scores:
Sagesse (95) – Stoglin 46, Obrien 18, Efebra 17, Bou 8, Ammoury 3, Godfrey 2, Ibrahim 1, Beyrouthy 0, Ghottas 0.
Mighty Sports (92) – Brownlee 27, Ravena 25, McGuire 10, Douthit 7, Tiu 6, David 6, Banal 5, Teng 4, Araña 2, Miller 0, Thabeet 0.
Quarterscores: 21-15, 46-41, 74-69, 95-92.
