Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

Basketball

Strong Group adds Kouame, Barefield, Balkman to roster


Strong Group Realty and Development Corp. continues to load up its roster for the 32nd Dubai International Basketball Championship.

A day after announcing the addition of Nick Young, the team added 6-foot-11 naturalized Filipino Angelo Kouame, point guard Sedrick Barefield, and ever-reliable Puerto Rican import Renaldo Balkman.

For team owner Jacob Lao, having Kouame was a no-brainer.UAAP-85-MBB-Finals-G3-ADMU-vs.-UP-ADMU-seniors-1507 Strong Group adds Kouame, Barefield, Balkman to roster Basketball News  - philippine sports news

“We are very thankful to Gilas and the SBP for allowing us to borrow Ange in this tournament,” said Lao as Kouame powered Ateneo back to the top of collegiate basketball back in UAAP Season 85.

“He’s my teammate and we just won in Ateneo, and hopefully we can win one more together.”

Kouame, 25, was the Season 84 MVP and 85 Finals MVP.

Meanwhile, Barefield is a 6-foot-2 floor general who Charles Tiu had wanted to handle since his days with Mighty Sports.
Fil-Am-Nation-Gopez-x-Barefield-x-Cabagnot-1 Strong Group adds Kouame, Barefield, Balkman to roster Basketball News  - philippine sports news
“I’ve actually been trying to get Barefield on my teams in the past and it just hasn’t worked out due to the timing amongst others but I’m really excited to have him right now,” said Tiu as Barefield previously played in the G League.

“Our Filipino fans will see just how good this guy is.”

Barefield only played one game for T1’s Tainan TSG before being released.

Finally, Balkman was the go-to import of Tiu in Mighty.

Together they won gold in the 2019 Jones Cup and 2022 Dubai meet.2020-dubai-basketball-championship-mighty-sports-def-sale-renaldo-balkman Strong Group adds Kouame, Barefield, Balkman to roster Basketball News  - philippine sports news

“I’ve had two championships with Balk, and I want to try to keep on rolling. He says he’s been in shape and is very eager to come back to the Philippines to come finish his legacy here.”

Balkman has been playing in the Puerto Rican pro league over the past two years.

#ReadMore  SEA Games: EJ Obiena breaks own event record to retain gold
Written By




You May Also Like

Basketball

Defending champion Strong Group overcame a rough start and roared back with a dominant third-quarter blitz to turn back Chinese Taipei Blue, 67-56, and...

Basketball

Strong Group-Philippines begins its title defense in the 43rd William Jones Cup tonight—and it’s diving straight into the fire. The reigning champions will face...

Basketball

When Kiefer Ravena married Diana Mackey last June 11, he was surrounded by some of his closest friends as groomsmen. Among them were his...

Basketball

After his attempted PBA comeback fell through, former Terrafirma Dyip forward Javi Gomez de Liano is not closing his doors on returning home to...

Basketball

Two key pieces in Strong Group Athletics-Philippines’ quest for back-to-back titles in the 44th William Jones Cup have expressed their intent to join the...

AdU

De La Salle University completed a clean sweep of the elimination round, while defending UAAP champion University of the Philippines wrapped up with back-to-back...

Basketball

Eager to make up for lost time, Rhenz Abando is more than willing to do whatever it takes for another shot at glory with...

Basketball

Javi Gomez de Liano has been released by Korean Basketball League (KBL) club Anyang Jung Kwan Jang (JKJ) after reportedly going “AWOL,” according to...

Advertisement