Another Mighty Sports-Philippines hijack attempt was foiled for the fourth straight game, this time against Homenetmen Beirut B.C., 100-93, in the 2017 Dubai Invitational Basketball Tournament at the Al Ahli Sporting Club.
With the loss to the Lebanese ball club, the Philippine contingent have bowed out of the playoff race with a dismal 0-4 slate.
Mighty Sports’ balanced attack was led by Justin Brownlee with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting along with six rebounds.
Gary David supplied 19 markers on an excellent 6-of-10 clip from the floor. Veteran guard Willie Miller finally made his presence felt, scoring 17 markers by hitting six of his eight shots. Dominic McGuire chipped in 15 points and seven boards.
Mighty Sports gained rhythm on offense in the third canto, scoring 30 points — anchored by the hot shooting of David and Miller — in the said period alone, to head into the final 10 minutes of the game behind by just seven, 70-63.
However, Homenetmen welcomed the payoff period by nailing 11 unanswered points led by veteran playmaker Fadi El-Khatib, establishing the game’s widest gap at 18, 81-63, with 7:53 on the clock.
Philippines then went cold in the next sequences until the last two minutes. Both teams traded baskets that favored the Philippines, as they were able to come back from 11 down to just five, 96-91, after four straight free throws by David.
Unfortunately for Mighty Sports, that was the closest they would get. As Homenetmen received fouls, they all obliged and sank their shots from the foul line to douse cold water on the Philippine side.
Taylor led Homenetmen with 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while Kevin Galloway backed him up with 20 markers. Dewayne Jackson and El-Khatib chipped in 19 and 15, respectively.
The Philippines still shot better from the floor, hitting 35-of-45 en route to a 47 percent clip. But they were outrebounded, 38-32, and allowed Homenetmen to feast on their 19 turnovers as they was flipped to 19 points.
Mighty Sports will next play Al Riyadi tomorrow, Thursday, February 23, still at 1:00 AM. This match serves as their second-to-the-last assignment before facing Ball Above All on Friday.
The Scores:
Homenetmen (100) – Taylor 29, Galloway 20, Jackson 19, El-Khatib 15, Souad 10, Majck 4, Hawe 2, Oyokchyan 0, Chamoun 0
Mighty Sports-Philippines (93) – Brownlee 20, David 19, Miller 17, McGuire 15, Thabeet 7, Teng 5, Araña 4, Ravena 4, Belga 2, Intal 0, Douthit 0.
Quarterscores: 26-19, 42-33, 70-63, 100-91.
