Games Today
(Xinzhuang gym)
1 p.m. – Egypt vs Iran
3 p.m. – India vs Korea
5 p.m. – SSU-US vs PH-Mighty Sports
7 p.m. – Taiwan-B vs Taiwan-A
NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan – With big help from the little guys, Philippine representative Mighty Sports Apparels smothered South Korea, 86-65, and tied defending champion Iran for the lead in the William Jones Cup last night at the Xinzhuang gym here.
And like in the team’s 89-81 team over Taiwan-A Sunday night, the Mighty Sports dribblers used another devastating second quarter assault to dismantle the Koreans for their second straight win in as many outings in the 9-team field.
This time, heroes came in different sizes and colors for the hastily formed team backed by Scratch It Pera-Pera Agad-Agad! and Symarom.
First, it was retired Rain or Shine playmaker Ty Tang, whose brilliant quarterbacking enabled them to post their first biggest lead at 36-21 late in the second frame.
Interestingly, it was the 5-foot-7 Tang who capped the team’s bristling 9-0 run with a triple. That was his only basket for the night in almost 13 minutes of play but it was enough to earn raves from coach Bo Perasol.
“We got quality minutes from Ty,” said Perasol who said his team. “We are now much better than what we are a week ago. We have now a chemistry but we need to improve it.”
Fil-American Jason Brickman followed suit as he stood his ground against the more experienced Korean counterparts, wowing the crowd as he weaved through his defenders like a snake.
The 5-foot-9 Brickman finished with five points, seven boards and an assist in 27 minutes of action.
The last time Mighty Sports was threatened was when the Koreans pulled within 65-58.
But Senegalese Hamady N’Diaye countered with a power play before Al Thornton stepped up once again, touching off a vicious 8-0 onslaught with his second triple of the night.
A big letdown down in their game against the Taiwanese, Thornton was good for 24 points this time on 9-of-15 shooting from the field aside from grabbing seven boards. He was held to just five points by the Taiwanese the last time.
Former PBA import Zach Graham and Dewarick Spencer, who made a living in the Korean Basketball League (KBL), produced another significant numbers with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Scores:
PH-MIGHTY SPORTS 86 – Thornton 24, Graham 13, Spencer 12, Macklin 9, Gillenwater 9, Singletary 7, Brickman 5, N’Diaye 4, Tang 3, Avenido 0, Teng 0.
SOUTH KOREA 65 – Heo I. 11, Kim J.11, Lee 11, Heo U. 10, Byun 9, Kim S. 4, Kim J. Y. 4,Heo H. 3, Kang 2, Choi Ju. 0, Choi Ji. 0, Lee J. 0.
Quarters: 22-18; 44-31; 59-45; 86-65. (REY LACHICA)