Despite a shorter schedule, and with just a handful of teams involved compared to the Jones Cup, breezing through the Merlion Cup will not be an easy task, warns PH-Mighty Sports head coach Charles Tiu.
The Singapore cagefest, which will last for only five days and featyres six club teams, will still display a high level of competition, according to Tiu.
“Hopefully we want to win it all, but we have to understand that the other teams are much stronger,” Tiu said on Friday morning after Mighty Sports’ practice session.
The Merlion Cup will feature five more club teams aside from Mighty Sports — the Shanghai Sharks, Westports Malaysia Dragons, Kinmen Kaoloang Liquor, Seoul Samsung Thunders, and Singapore Slingers — and Tiu is aware that theses squads will bring tough competition to the tourney.
“Yung Samsung Thunders, they have imports just like us. Shanghai Sharks din.
“Their advantage is that they’ve been playing for a long time. They’re more familiar with each other,” the youthful head coach shared
As far as imports are concerned, the Mighty Sports’ roster for the Merlion Cup is not the same as the one that played in the Jones Cup, as this version is largely made up of local players — different from the team that was led by seven imports.
Tiu explained the move, saying that the tournament only allowed a limited number of foreign players. However, Tiu is upbeat about the vast participation of local players for Mighty Sports.
“We’re only allowed to bring three imports. Marcus [Douthit] is considered a local, so that’s okay.
“Now that we have no more [PBA] DLeague and we have guys that are about to join the [PBA Rookie] Draft, we have more guys so it’s a much better team,” Tiu stated.
And despite the challenges the defending Jones Cup champions will be facing in the tourney, Tiu was quick to add that the Philippine contingent possesses a huge advantage in terms of talent.
“I think talent-wise, we’re definitely much better especially sa local players,” said Tiu, who has taken over the head coaching spot from Bo Perasol.
“We’ve got some good guys, so hopefully we can just compete. And if we’re lucky enough, win the championship.”
