Mighty rolls to third win, blasts Japan

MANILA, Philippines — Mighty Sports Apparel-Phl extended its unscathed run to three games after scoring another rout, this time at the expense of Asian force Japan, 94-59, in Day 3 of the 41st William Jones Cup yesterday at the Changhua County Gymnasium in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Riding on the crest of two dominant wins against Iran (98-72) and Jordan (90-76), the Philippine bet found no problem either against the Japanese, posting an early double-digit lead at 38-26.

The Go For Gold-backed bet never relaxed from there, sustaining an efficient effort to pull off the lopsided 35-point win.

After taking the backseat to Eugene Phelps in the first two games, ex-San Miguel Beer and Alab Pilipinas reinforcement Renaldo Balkman assumed the lead role, pumping in 27 points on 9-of-15 clip that came with 12 rebounds and two blocks in just 23 minutes of action. 

Phelps, the Phoenix Fuel resident import, continued to impress though with 19 markers, seven boards and four steals for Mighty Sports which is gunning to bring back the title to the Philippines after winning it via sweep in 2016.

Mighty Sports, which is being mentored by head coach Charles Tiu, kept a stranglehold of the top spot in this eight-team Asian invititational tourney with an unblemished 3-0 slate.

The team won its first three games by a whopping average margin of 24.6 points. 

Fil-Am guard Mikey William contributed 17 points while Jason Brickman and McKenzie Moore chipped in eight markers each.

Japan could not handle the Mighty Sports’ firepower as Koh Flippin served as the only bright spot with 10 points and three rebounds. 

The Japanese fell to 1-1, failing to follow up its 77-75 win over home team Chinese Taipei-A the other day. 

Mighty Sports Phl seeks a fourth straight win against Canada at 3 p.m. today.