Strong Group blasts Al Sharjah, moves two wins away from Dubai title

1 month ago 16

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Strong Group blasts Al Sharjah, moves two wins away from Dubai title

ALL OUT. Strong Group Athletics' DeMarcus Cousins dispute the ball against Al Sharjah Club in the Dunai tourney quarterfinal.

UAE BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

DeMarcus Cousins and Chris McCullough continue to put on a show for Strong Group Athletics as the Philippine side punches its ticket to the semifinals of the Dubai International Basketball Championship

MANILA, Philippines – Strong Group Athletics is just two wins away from reclaiming the Dubai International Basketball Championship title for the Philippines.

After a 4-0 sweep of the group stage, Strong Group punched its ticket to the semifinals after clobbering Al Sharjah Club, 100-63, on Thursday, January 30 (Friday, January 31, Manila time).

DeMarcus Cousins and Chris McCullough continued to put on a show for Strong Group as they both breached the 20-point territory in the wire-to-wire win that saw the Philippine side lead by as many as 37 points.

The four-time NBA All-Star Cousins put together a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists in just 20 minutes of play, while McCullough produced 20 markers on 8-of-12 field goal clip and 6 boards.

Strong Group locals Dave Ildefonso and Mikey Williams also finished in double-digit scoring as they both registered 11 points apiece.

Fresh from an 84-75 win over the Amman United Club just less than a day ago, Strong Group showed no signs of fatigue as it immediately built a 31-16 separation from Al Sharjah at the end of the first frame.

In contrast to its previous matches, Strong Group made sure to keep its foot on the gas pedal this time as it never allowed Al Sharjah to pull back within single digits the whole second half.

Nicholas West led Al Sharjah with 19 points, while DeQuan Jones — who played for the NLEX Road Warriors in the previous Governors’ Cup — added 18 markers on a rough 6-of-18 shooting in the losing cause.

Strong Group will get a day of rest before its knockout semifinal match on Saturday, February 1 (Sunday, February 2, Manila time).

The Scores

Strong Group 100 – Cousins 21, McCullough 20, Ildefonso 11, Williams 11, Richardson 9, Brickman 8, Abando 7, Kouame 6, Liwag 4, Sanchez 3, Blatche 0, Koon 0.