STRONG Group Athletics breezed into the semifinals of the 34th Dubai International Basketball Championships after yet another blowout out win, this time against Al Sharjah Club 100-63 on the wee hours of Friday (Philippine time) at the Al Nasr Club in UAE.
Trailing 5-11 early on, the Filipino ball club turned to DeMarcus Cousins and Malachi Richardson and the American reinforcements responded by scoring a combined 16 points in their 23-1 run to push SGA to a 28-12 lead and break the game wide open early on.
It was a lead that the Filipinos would never relinquish as Chris McCullough, Dave Ildefonso and Mikey Williams would join the party in the second half, with the squad padding into the lead up until the final buzzer sounded.
Cousins finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds in just 20 minutes of action while McCullough came off the bench to finish with 20 points, six boards and two blocks.
The locals also showed up for SGA, with Williams finishing with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Ildefonso also finished with 11 in a reliever's role.
Rhenz Abando didn't score much but was a pest on defense, forcing one turnover after another and finishing with four steals and a block on top of seven points and four boards.
Nicholas West paced the Emirati ballclub with 19 points and seven rebounds while the high-scoring former NLEX import DeQuan Jones added 18 for the home team.
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