STRONG Group has added Jerom Lastimosa and JD Cagulangan to its squad for the Dubai International Championship set Jan. 27 to Feb. 5.
"Jerom had a great UAAP season and I'm excited to have him. I love scoring guards and we are thankful that they allowed him to play for us. It would be nice for him to get some international exposure too," said coach Charles Tiu.
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Cagulangan is set to join the team next week.
"I've seen him play since he was in second year high school and I actually wanted to recruit him from there," Tiu said.
Francis Lopez and St. Benilde shooter Migs Oczon have also been added to the team.
Tiu worked with Lopez in the Gilas Youth program.
"Great talent, still raw, and hopefully we can give him an opportunity to improve himself and give him some experience. They'll have to fight for their minutes," he said.
Oczon, meanwhile, continues his partnership with Tiu and Blazers teammate Will Gozum.
"He had a great year for us at Benilde and we want to continue to develop him and give him experience. hopefully he will improve playing with and against some great players," said Tiu.
Strong Group also has former NBA players Nick Young, Renaldo Balkman, and Shabazz Muhammad, and naturalized Filipino Ange Kouame from Ivory Coast.
Completing the team are Fil-Am playmaker Sedrick Barefield, and locals Justine Baltazar, Gozum, BJ Andrade, and Fornilos.
Mighty Sports won the 2020 title in Dubai.
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