NO man is above the other in a star-studded Strong Group Athletics (SGA) side.
SGA head coach Charles Tiu, who now has a fair share of high-profile additions in both his squad and his staff, likes what he's been seeing from 'a great group of guys [where] nobody complains.'
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"I like the team so far. What we've been seeing is that we have a great group of guys. Nobody complains, you know, not even Dwight [Howard], he listens to everything we've asked. And I'm so happy to have Coach Brian [Goorjian] here to help me out," Tiu said.
Talent and NBA pedigree aside, having Howard and former Gilas Pilipinas ace Andray Blatche onboard adds a 'positive influence' to a relatively young squad of college hotshots.
"They're really good. You know, they're the two loudest players on the court. We always talk about communicating and Dwight's been so great, so vocal. Same thing with Andray. He's somebody who right now is more of that veteran leader role. He's matured so much, so different. So he's always guiding and helping the other guys," Tiu said.
"They're a big plus to our team and really a big weight off my shoulder. You know, when we talked to Dwight, when we signed him, a lot of people were saying 'he's gonna give you so much problems,' but he hasn't given us any problem. He's been really supportive of what we've been doing," he added.
Battle of balance
Tiu knows all too well how physically demanding the Dubai tourney will be, even with a stacked roster at his disposal.
And it will take each and every star in his squad to align and be on the same page to make it work this time around after last year's quarterfinals heartbreak.
"It's one thing we talked about even before signing them up, you know, that they have to understand their roles," said Tiu.
"We tend to look at the bigger picture (since) we have seven games in 10 days, so it's not easy on the body. It might be one game somebody stepping up and another game that's somebody else but so far, the egos have been really good, so that's been good for us," he added.
Gold's the only goal
A deep tournament run won't be enough as Tiu underscored the ultimate goal of completing a championship-winning run this year, and now more than ever.
"Modesty aside, we definitely want to win the championship right now. I think we didn't have such a great run last year with, all of a sudden, Ange Kouame got sick missed the tournament and that changed things for us."
Tiu added: "(This year's) team was composed based on having a seven-footer. So right now, our goal is, if we can stay healthy, would really be to win the championship."
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