After two tough wins and a two-day break, Mighty Sports coach Charles Tiu is looking for a better performance from his boys when they play against Tunisia’s Es Rades in the Dubai International Basketball Championship on Monday at the Shabab Al Ahli Club in the United Arab Emirates.
Two weeks after the team formed, Mighty Sports played two straight games barely a day after arriving in the ultra-modern city on Wednesday. The flaws were evident, with the team struggling to beat host UAE and Syria’s Al Ittihad.
Game time is at 9 p.m. (1 a.m. Tuesday Manila time) with Mighty Sports out to firm up its hold of Group A lead in the 11-team tournament.
“We welcomed the two-day off for it gave us ample time to correct the mistakes we did in our past two games,” said Tiu. “After running some plays during the break, hopefully, we can play much better against the Tunisian club.”
Team owner Alex Wongchuking already felt pleased with what he saw in the team’s 77-72 win over the Syrian club. Now, he expects a different Mighty Sports squad to show up against the Tunisian club.
Though naturalized Andray Blatche carried most of the scoring load, Wongchuking felt delighted with the contributions from Isaac Go, Dave Ildefonso, and Jamie Malonzo.
The three combined for 16 points, holding against beefier rivals to the delight of the predominantly-Filipino crowd.
“They’re indeed the future of Philippine basketball as they showed great resolve against taller defenders,” said Wongchuking.
Filipino migrant workers, however, are looking for a breakthrough performance from former Ateneo King Eagle Thirdy Ravena. Easily the most popular of the team, the 6-foot-2 Ravena is still trying to find his offensive rhythm after being held to just four points in two games.
“He will have his time to shine, there’s no doubt about that,” added Wongchuking.
Team Mighty Sports is backed by Creative Pacific of Bong Cuevas, Go for Gold, Oriental Game, Gatorade and Discovery Primea.
