Redemption for Mighty Sports

The memory of losing to the Shanghai Sharks by a point in the final of the Merlion Cup in Singapore last September lingers in Mighty Sports coach Charles Tiu’s mind like a nagging headache and it’s a demon he hopes to exorcise at the Dubai Invitational Tournament in the United Arab Emirates on Feb. 17-25.

Tiu will never forget the loss in Singapore. Down to the final possession, the Sharks were behind by two when NBA veteran Jimmer Fredette was fouled taking a three-point shot with no time left. Mighty Sports’ Al Thornton, also an NBA veteran, was the culprit who sent Fredette to the line. Shanghai stole it from Mighty Sports as Fredette buried three straight foul shots to hand the Sharks a 78-77 win and the championship.

Tiu’s lineup for Merlion included Kiefer Ravena, Marcus Douthit, Joseph Yeo, Gelo Alolino, Matthew Wright and the Banal brothers Gab and Ael. It was Tiu’s debut as Mighty Sports coach and with the Dubai tilt coming up, he’d like nothing better than to nail his first title.

For Dubai, Tiu has assembled a mix of young and experienced talent. In the cast are Ravena, 23, Jeron Teng, 22, Jett Manuel, 23, T. Y. Tang, 32, Gary David, 38, Willie Miller, 39, Jerwin Gaco, 36, Douthit, 36 and imports Hasheem Thabeet, 29, Dominic McGuire, 31 and Justin Brownlee, 28. Two more slots are open in the roster and Tiu said he’ll tap players from PBA teams that don’t make it to the Philippine Cup playoffs.

Bringing in Ravena and Teng was a coup. Teng, a two-time UAAP Finals MVP with La Salle, was allowed by his PBA D-League team AMA to take a brief leave for the Dubai event. Ravena, a two-time UAAP MVP with Ateneo, is flying in on Feb. 15 from Texas where he’s getting ready to play for the Legends in the NBA D-League. Tiu said he plans to start practice on Feb. 6 with the players who are available. 

“Each team is allowed three imports in a roster but only two may play at the same time,” said Tiu who was Rajko Toroman’s chief assistant at Barako Bull and is making a name for himself as a coach while his brother Chris enhances his reputation as a PBA player with Rain Or Shine. “The imports will be coming to Manila first before we all leave for Dubai. The biggest challenge is to prepare and put them in a system given limited time. Marcus, as a naturalized citizen, is considered a local so he’s not an import.”

Tiu said 10 teams will compete in Dubai. There will be two groups of five in the preliminary stage then the top four finishers of each bracket advance to the quarterfinals with the survivors moving to the semifinals and the last two standing to dispute the title.

Expected to crowd Mighty Sports in the race for the throne are Al Ahli Dubai, Al Riyadi Beirut and Sagesse of Lebanon. Al Ahli’s imports are 6-6 Sam Young of the University of Pittsburgh and 7-1 Chiekh Samb of Senegal. Young, 31, was Memphis’s second round pick in the 2009 NBA draft and played for the Grizzlies, Philadelphia and Indiana in three NBA seasons. Samb, 32, was the Los Angeles Lakers second round pick in 2006 and suited up for Detroit, Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers and New York in a two-year NBA career. Al Riyadi’s imports are 6-7 Branko Cvetkovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina and 5-11 Ken Brown of Western Kentucky and Philander Smith College. Former TNT import Ivan Johnson leads the Sagesse lineup with 6-1 Terrell Stoglin of the University of Maryland. Another former PBA import Tyler Wilkerson is rumored to be playing for a UAE club.

“While we’re out to win the title, we’re also playing in Dubai to promote the game and reach out to our kababayan in the Emirates,” said Tiu who will be assisted by UP coach Bo Perasol on the bench. “We’re excited to bring Mighty Sports overseas to touch base with our Filipino OFWs. This is our third international competition after the Jones Cup and Merlion.” Mighty Sports won the Jones Cup in Taipei last year with Perasol calling the shots. Tang is the only holdover from the Mighty Sports cast that played at the Jones Cup.

Mighty Sports, which produces athletic apparel, made its debut in competitive basketball at the Republica Cup in Bulacan in 2013. It has won three of four Republica Cups and also participated in the PCBL. There is talk that Mighty Sports is seriously considering to enter the PBA.

Brownlee will no doubt lead the charge for Mighty Sports in Dubai. He was the hero in Barangay Ginebra’s win in the PBA Governors Cup last season and the former St. John’s forward can’t wait to play for Filipino fans once more. McGuire is a 6-9 forward from Fresno State and was Washington’s second round draft pick in 2007. He played for the Wizards, Sacramento, Charlotte, Golden State, Toronto, New Orleans and Indiana in a six-year journeyman NBA career. In 2008-09, McGuire averaged career highs of 4.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 79 games with Washington.

Thabeet is a 7-3, 265-pound center from Tanzania and was Memphis’ first round draft pick in 2009. The former University of Connecticut standout was the second overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft after Blake Griffin. He played for Memphis, Houston, Portland and Oklahoma City in five NBA seasons. Thabeet averaged career highs of 3.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 68 games for Memphis in 2009-10.

Douthit is a 6-11 center from Providence and has played with Gilas and in the PBA. He was on the Gilas team that won the Jones Cup in 2012. Douthit was on the Philippine team that took second place at the FIBA Asia Championships in Manila in 2013 but sat out the final against Iran because of a banged-up leg. He’s now playing for the Vietnam club Hanoi Buffaloes in the Thai super league.

An interesting feature in Tiu’s roster is the presence of PBA legends David and Miller. In 2014, David played for the Philippines at the FIBA World Cup in Spain and the 13-year PBA veteran is now without a team in the pro league after a one-game stint with Mahindra. Miller is a two-time PBA MVP who is also without a team in the pro league after 14 seasons. They’ll be joined by Tang who has won titles in the UAAP, PBL, PBA and the Jones Cup and Gaco who played on seven PBL and five PBA champion squads aside from seeing action for the ABL titlist Philippine Patriots in 2010.