Strong Group-Philippines leaned on the hot hands of its three imports to fend off a gritty UAE National Team, securing a 99-91 victory to open its 34th Dubai International Basketball Championship campaign on Saturday morning (Manila time) at Al Nasr Club.
The trio of Chris McCullough, DeMarcus Cousins, and Malachi Richardson carried the load, giving the Athletics an early lead in Group A.
McCullough, the 2024 William Jones Cup MVP, led the charge with 28 points and six rebounds.
Four-time NBA All-Star Cousins added 24 points on an efficient 9-of-14 shooting. Meanwhile, Richardson — a former Sacramento King and Toronto Raptor — contributed 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting along with five rebounds.
“We’re still in the process of familiarizing ourselves as a team, but we’ve been through this before and will become more cohesive as the tournament progresses,” said Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu.
Strong Group only pulled away from the hosts early in the final quarter.
Back-to-back triples by McCullough and Richardson ignited a 13-0 run that gave SGA an 85-73 lead midway through the period. Reigning NCAA MVP Allen Liwag also chipped in four points during that stretch.
A Cousins three-pointer with 4:30 left extended the lead to 93-78 before UAE mounted a late rally. Hamid Abdullateef’s basket trimmed the deficit to six, 95-89, with 2:16 remaining.
A clutch Rhenz Abando bucket followed by a McCullough dunk stopped the bleeding, sealing the win for Strong Group.
Abando finished with 13 points and two steals, while Liwag made an impact in limited minutes, scoring four points in just four minutes of play. Dave Ildefonso also contributed seven rebounds with two points.
“I’m glad our imports stepped up today, and we’ll make sure our locals are ready to deliver in the next game,” Tiu added.
UAE’s naturalized player Demarco Dickerson led the hosts with 25 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Qais Alshabebi chipped in 23 points and seven rebounds.
Strong Group will next face Al Nasr on Saturday at 1:00 AM (Manila time).
The Scores:
Strong Group 99 – McCullough 28, Cousins 24, Richardson 21, Abando 13, Brickman 5, Liwag 4, Ildefonso 2, Kouame 2, Blatche 0, Williams 0, Sanchez 0.
UAE 91 – Dickerson 25, Alshabebi 23, Abdullateef H. 12, Foster 7, Muhammad 7, Hussein 7, Ndiaye 4, Alameeri 3, Abdullateef A. 0, Salem 0, Almaazmi 0.
Quarterscores: 25-28, 44-40, 63-62, 99-91.
