Photo credit: Dubai Sports TV
Hot-shooting Strong Group Athletics - Philippines (2-0) defeated Al Wahda of Syria (0-1), 89-67, securing their second consecutive victory in the 2024 Dubai International Basketball Championship on Saturday, January 20, 2024, at the Al Nasr Club - Basketball Court in Dubai, UAE. [REPLAY VIDEO]
Strong Group relied on their impressive 62% shooting from beyond the arc, hitting 17-of-27 threes, led by the locals. Kevin Quiambao had a game-high 24 points with a perfect 6-of-6 from the three-point line, to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block in 24 minutes of play. Francis Escandor had 18 points (5/6 3pts), 2rebounds, and a steal.
Jordan Heading had another solid game of 12 points (2/3 3pts), 1 rebound and 1 assist while naturalized Filipino Andray Blatche, who struggled with a 0-of-10 shooting performance last night against UAE, showcased a notable improvement with 12 points (4/8 FG, 2/5 2pts, 2/3 3pts, 2/2 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.
Mckenzie Moore had 8 points, 4 rebounds, and a game-high 6 assists. Dwight Howard played for 22 minutes, scoring 5 points on 2-of-5 shooting, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks while André Roberson with 5 points (2/8FG), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and a block.
Strong Group will be back in action against Homenetmen of Lebanon (0-1) on Sunday, January 21 at 11:15pm (PHL time) or 7:15pm (UAE time). [LIVE]
The Scores:
STRONG GROUP 89 - Quiambao 24, Escandor 18, Heading 12, Blatche 12, Moore 8, Howard 5, Roberson 5, Baltazar 3, Ynot 2, Cagulangan 0, Sanchez 0, Liwag 0.
AL WAHDA 67 – Jordan 19, Hohadbrown 17, Alhamwi 10, Banks 8, Arbasha 5, Jlelati 4, Otabachi 2, Kassabali 2, Alhalabi 0, Aljabi 0, Ghaith 0, Al Osh 0.
Quarters: 23-14, 43-30, 64-48, 89-67. [GAME STATS] | [GAME HIGHLIGHTS] | [JORDAN]
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🏀 STRONG GROUP PHL Games: (PHL time)
(Jan 19) 
SGA def. UAE, 82-66
(Jan 20) SGA def. Al Wahda, 89-67
(Jan 21) SGA def. Homenetmen, 104-95
(Jan 24) SGA def. Beirut, 95-73
(Jan 25) SGA def. Al Ahli Tripoli, 91-89
(Jan 27) QF - SGA def. AS Sale, 92-80
(Jan 28) SEMIS - SGA def. Beirut, 94-72
(Jan 28) FINALS - AL RIYADI def. SGA, 77-74