Mighty Sports-Philippines fell victim to AS Sale’s three-point sniping down the stretch as they bowed in their 2017 Dubai Invitational Tournament debut, 83-75, Saturday morning Manila time.
American Justin Brownlee led Mighty Sports’ offense with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting, while Kiefer Ravena backed him up with 11 markers on a 30 percent clip along with four assists in the loss.
Marcus Douthit, despite finishing with just eight, made his presence felt on the boards as he made a team-high 12 caroms in the 23 minutes he played.
Mighty Sports trailed for the entirety of the game, but became revitalized early in the payoff period as Brownlee, Ravena, and JC Intal each made buckets to give the Filipinos their first taste of the lead, 60-57, with 8:32 on the clock.
Both squads then engaged in a nip-and-tuck battle, but the Moroccan club team went berserk, hitting four straight treys — three from Brandon Freeman and one from Zakaria Elmasbahi — to post a six-point lead, 75-69, with 1:35 to go.
The Philippines tried to haul in one last run to catch up, but time was not on their side anymore. They resorted to the fouling game to freeze the clock, but Sale managed to sink their free throws, helping them seal the eight-point win.
Freeman paced AS Sale with a game-high 28 points spiked by five triples. Abderrahim Najah supplied 13 points and 11 boards for a double-double, while Elmasbahi and Soufiane Kourdou each chipped in 11 markers.
The Filipinos shot just 36 percent, hitting just 27 of 75, with most of those coming off their 10 team assists. They were also out-rebounded by a couple of boards, 41-39, and committed 15 turnovers, which was turned to 17 points by Sale.
Mighty Sports will have a chance to redeem themselves tomorrow, Saturday, February 19, against the Egypt National Team at 1:00 AM Manila time.
The Scores:
AS Sale (83) – Freeman 28, Najah 13, Elmasbahi 11, Kourdou 11, Zouita 8, Almuheisny 6, Choua 6, Stowbridge II 0, Boufarasse 0.
Mighty Sports (75) – Brownlee 27, Ravena 11, McGuire 9, David 8, Douthit 8, Intal 7, David 5, Miller 0, Teng 0, Araña 0, Banal 0, Tiu 0.
Quarterscores: 15-7, 30-25, 55-51, 83-75.
