Strong Group took care of business on Saturday morning (Manila time), thrashing Beirut anew with a 94-72 victory in the semifinals of the 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship at Al Nasr Club.
With the win, the Athletics have reached the final stage of the tournament, looking to be the second non-Middle Eastern squad to win it all after Mighty Sports achieved the feat in 2020.
However, standing in their way will be Al Riyadi — last year’s champions bannered by Wael Arakji — as it defeated Tripoli, 83-73, earlier in the night.
The final will tip off at 11:15 PM tonight.
Just like its 95-73 win over the same team last January 23, Strong Group proved to be too much for Beirut.
Dwight Howard powered Strong Group with a 20-20 outing of 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting with 20 rebounds.
Kevin Quiambao and Justine Baltazar supported the multiple-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
The reigning UAAP MVP got 18 points while the MPBL MVP got 15 points.
Jordan Heading also chipped in 10 points as Andray Blatche missed the game due to an ankle sprain he sustained in the quarterfinals.
SGA fired on all cylinders, blowing the game wide open by halftime by gaining a 50-34 lead.
The lead ballooned to 26 points early in the final frame.
Dar Tucker and Alexander Saleh were the sole bright spots for Beirut.
Tucker produced 22 points and seven rebounds while Saleh finished with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds.
The Scores:
Strong Group (94) – Howard 26, Quiambao 18, Baltazar 15, Heading 10, Moore 7, Roberson 6, Sanchez 5, Escandor 3, Cagulangan 2, Liwag 2, Ynot 0.
Beirut (72) – Tucker 22, Saleh 19, El Darwich 8, Haidar 6, Rabay 6, Jarrouj 5, Mahmoud 3, Mezher 3, Mechref 0.
Quarterscores: 22-17, 50-34, 73-49, 94-72.
