by Jonas Terrado
Game Today (Changhua County Gym in Changhua, Taiwan)
3 p.m. – Mighty Sports-PH vs Indonesia
Mighty Sports-Go for Gold Philippines resumes its title bid in the 41st William Jones Cup when it goes for a sixth straight victory against Indonesia at the Xinzhuang Gym in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
The Charles Tiu-mentored squad is favored to dominate the Indonesians in the 3 p.m. match, especially after producing a hard-fought victory over FIBA World Cup-bound South Korea, 89-82, last Tuesday in Changhua.
Mighty, owned by Alex and Caesar Wongchuking, needs to win its last three games to complete a repeat of its victory in the 2016 edition of the tournament.
Imports Eugene Phelps, Renaldo Balkman, Hamady Ndiaye and Zach Graham and Fil-Americans Mackenzie Moore, Jeremiah Gray, Roosevelt Adams and Mikey Williams are expected to play big roles anew.
Balkman, Ndiaye, Graham and Moore were instrumental in Mighty’s comeback from an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to beat South Korea in what Tiu described as the tournament’s championship game.
The faceoff with Indonesia will serve as a warmup to Saturday’s marquee clash with host Taiwan-A.
Taiwan-A remains in contention to win the crown with a 3-1 record at presstime.
Mighty’s last assignment is on Sunday against Taiwan-B which totes a 1-3 card.
Indonesia, which is set to be coached by Tiu’s lead assistant Rajko Toroman, also had a 1-3 record but has not won since beating Canada in its opening match.
