After a gallant bronze medal finish in the 2019 Dubai International Basketball Championship, Mighty Sports Philippines will make another run for gold in the 31st edition of the tournament that will take place from January 23-February 1, 2020.
The two-time Jones Cup champions are still hungry to take this tourney down.
“We joined against because we love the competition over there. And this is the way we could give back to the Filipinos working over there,” said head coach Charles Tiu, as the team will also be backed by Creative Pacific of Bong Cuevas, Go for Gold, Oriental Group, Discovery Primea, and Gatorade.
“Also, we feel that this is the one tournament that we still have to conquer.”
Besides Mighty Sports, other teams that have been announced that will take part in this tourney are Syria’s Alwathba Sports Club, the UAE Men’s National Basketball Team, and UAE’s Alittihad Alexandria Club.
The team has also announced the first two players this year — the Gomez de Liaño brothers, Juan and Javi. Both brothers are still pondering whether they will have another run with the UP Fighting Maroons.
The addition of the two is a welcome development for Tiu.
“I’ve always been a fan of Juan. He had a solid run for us last year and hopefully, after more experience and maturity he can help us more this year,” Tiu said about the 6-foot-1 Juan, who was also part of last year’s Dubai team.
“He is just so talented. In fact, some opponents were inquiring about him to be an import for their teams.”
“Javi, on the other hand, has improved so much that and it really caught my attention. His outside shooting is one aspect where I hope he can help our team,” Tiu added about 6-foot-4 stretch forward Javi.
Mighty Sports will name the rest of the team in the upcoming days.
