Shanghai foils Mighty Sports, rules Merlion Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Former NBA veteran Jimmer Fredette canned in three pressure-packed charities with no time left as the Shanghai Sparks foiled the Mighty Sports Apparel Philippines side, 78-77, to rule the revival of the Merlion Cup basketball tournament in Singapore last Sunday.

The Sharks battled from four points down, 73-77, in the last 36 seconds, scoring on a twinner and then pouncing on Mighty Sports’ costly turnover with 17 seconds left in the contest with Fredette breaking free and drawing a foul from Al Thornton on a desperation heave from way out as time expired.

“We stuck to our game plan and it was working for us. It all boiled down to breaks. And they had an NBA-caliber player who took over the game. The Sharks deserved the win,” said Mighty Sports head coach Charles Tiu.

It was a sorry setback for Mighty Sports which had appeared headed to scoring a follow-up to its Jones Cup title romp last July after Kiefer Ravena completed a rare four-point play to give the team a 77-73 lead.

But the Sharks refused to give up, scoring on a quick basket then forcing Mighty Sports to a turnover before snaring the win and the crown on Fredette’s free throws.

Fredette finished with 41 points.

Meanwhile, the Mighty Sports organization, in a statement, thanked the Philippine Basketball Association, and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and GlobalPort Batang Pier ballclubs for their support.

“We thank the PBA, and Messrs. Terry Que and Raymund Yu of Rain or Shine, and Rep. Mikee Romero of GlobalPort for their generosity and understanding in allowing Joseph Yeo of the Batang Pier to play in the Merlion Cup and the Elasto Painters for allowing Jeric Teng to play in the 2016 William Jones Cup,” said Mighty Sports.

“Their commitment to Philippine basketball helped us bring glory to the country by winning the Jones Cup and finishing second in the Merlion Cup,” the organization added.