By MARK REY MONTEJO
Four-time NBA All-Star Demarcus Cousins is going for another mission as he returns to a Philippine club, this time for Strong Group Athletics (SGA).
Cousins, 34, confirmed on his social media post on Saturday, Dec. 21, that he has signed with SGA, which is bidding for a redemption campaign in the 34th Dubai International Basketball Championship starting in late January next year.
Cousins stressed that he is determined to give the country its second title in the premier competition after Mighty Sports completed a grand sweep of the title four years ago.
Last year, SGA made it to the finals but bowed to Al Riyaldi, 77-74, despite having former NBA star Dwight Howard, Andre Roberson and Andray Blatche in the tea,
“I’m excited to announce that I’ll be teaming up with Coach Charles Tiu, Jacob Lao and Strong Group Athletics to represent the Philippines in the Dubai International Basketball Tournament,” Cousins wrote.
“Can’t wait to help bring home SGA’s first-ever Dubai International Basketball championship,” he added. “Let’s get to work!”
In winning the title, Mighty Sports became the first team outside of the Middle East to do so.
This is the second time Cousins will be competing for a Filipino team as he led the Zamboanga Valientes to The Asian Tournament championship.
After his time with the NBA, the 6-foot-10 Cousins has played in various squads that included Mets de Guaynabo in Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) in Puerto Rico and the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards in Chinese Taipei.
