The Philippines-Mighty Sports thrashed Chinese Taipei B, 104-80, to complete their perfect William Jones Cup campaign Sunday evening in New Taipei City in Taiwan.
The Philippines’ convincing win over Taipei B marked their eighth consecutive win in eight games, thus sweeping the annual tournament’s 38th edition.
With a 54-33 lead after the first half, Mighty Sports did not allow any Taipei B comeback to happen, and with Dewarick Spencer, Vernon Macklin, Mike Singletary, and Al Thornton joining hands, the Philippines faced no problems as they coasted to the 24-point victory.
Spencer, the team’s leading shooter with 18.2 points per game, led all scorers with 27 points. Singletary added 21, while former NLEX import Thornton — who starred in numerous PH wins by posting double-doubles — contributed 13 markers.
Defensive anchor Hamady NDiaye, who had been the nightmare of all the Philippines’ opponents on the defensive side of the floor with his 4.5 blocks per game, chipped in 12 points.
It was a swift road to the Jones Cup championship for Mighty Sports. From a slim 89-81 win over Chinese Taipei A in their opener, the Philippines then went on a rampage, winning decisively over Korea (86-65), USA (88-69), Japan (87-66), and India (101-81).
Mighty Sports faced a tough battle against the Iranians, but they succeeded in the end, 80-73, with the foreign reinforcements leading the way. From there, the Philippines won again in rousing fashion versus the likes of Egypt (80-61) and tonight, Taipei B.
The Philippines mauled their opponents with an average margin of 17.4 points per game.
Mighty Sports’ dominant showing in the tournament makes them the fifth Philippine contingent to win it all. The first was in 1981 by Northern Consolidated Cement; the second was in 1985 with San Miguel Beer; third was won by the RP Centennial Team in 1998; and the fourth one was copped by a PBA-backed Gilas Pilipinas.
The Scores:
PH-Mighty Sports (104) – Spencer 27, Singletary 21, Thornton 13, Ndiaye 12, Macklin 10, Brickman 8, Salvacion 6, Avenido 5, Rodriguez 2.
Stats leaders (PHL):
Points: D. Spencer (18.2 ppg)
Rebounds: H. NDiaye (6.7 rpg)
Assists: D. Spencer (4.5 apg)
