Strong Group PH learns from UAE near-collapse, cruises wire-to-wire over Libya

MANILA, Philippines – Strong Group Philippines refused to leave anything to chance in its second game at the 32nd Dubai International Basketball Championship, as it dominated Al Nasr Libya for a wire-to-wire 93-76 rout on Saturday, January 28 (Sunday, January 29, Manila time).

Learning from a near-collapse against the UAE national team in the last game, former NBA player Shabazz Muhammad drilled home a sense of urgency with an early offensive spurt, and finished with a game-high 26 points off the bench on 9-of-14 shooting in just 22 minutes.

Veteran forward Renaldo Balkman was near-unstoppable in his 25-minute run as well and cruised to an easy 18 points on a 7-of-8 clip to go with 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals, while Sedrick Barefield led the local crew with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Strong Group’s top acquisition Nick Young failed to get it going and settled for just 3 points on a 1-of-7 clip in 22 minutes, but locals like Justine Baltazar (10 points), BJ Andrade (9 points), and Kevin Quiambao (9 points) picked up the rest of the scoring slack in his stead.

It was a one-sided affair from the get-go as the Philippine team fired off a 24-6 start with Muhammad, Balkman, and Andrade taking turns in picking apart the slacking Libyan defense.

Al Nasr managed to trim the deficit back to single digits, 57-66, midway through the third period, but a 17-1 burst bridging the last two quarters erased all doubt of a Libya comeback as Strong Group started the final frame up 25, 83-58.

Quiambao then drilled a triple with 5:49 left in regulation to peak with a 26-point separation, 88-62, and Al Nasr never again threatened the Philippine team until the final buzzer.

Donte Lamnot paced the loss with 22 points in just 25 minutes, while big men Michael Babatond and Mamadou Mbaye added 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Strong Group will get less than a day’s rest as it guns for its third straight win on Sunday, January 29, 11 pm (Manila time) against Al Wahda Syria.

The Scores

Strong Group PH 93 – Muhammad 26, Balkman 18, Barefield 14, Baltazar 10, Andrade 9, Quiambao 9, Young 3, Lastimosa 3, Lao 1, Gozum 0, Fornilos 0, Cagulangan 0.

Al Nasr Libya 76 – Lamnot 22, Babatond 14, Mbaye 11, Ihmaydah 10, Buzgaiya 9, Mohammed 4, Mohamed 2, Ramadan 2, Aljali 2, Omar 0, Algharabi 0, Alrashedi 0.

Quarters: 37-21, 56-46, 81-58, 93-76.

– Rappler.com