With Gilas Pilipinas unavailable this time, Mighty Sports will once again represent the country in the annual Jones Cup in Taiwan this July where some World Cup-bound teams, including South Korea and Japan, will also see action.
For this mission, Mighty Sports, owned by Alex Wongchuking, has appointed Charles Tiu to call the shots for the team which is hoping to relive its 2016 magic.
Bannered by NBA veterans Al Thornton and Senegalese Hamady N’Diaye and the sharp-shooting Dewarick Spencer, Mighty Sports completed an eight-game sweep of the championship.
Mighty Sports was so dominant it posted a whopping average winning margin of 17.4 points to mirror the 1981 feat of the Ron Jacobs-mentored Northern Consolidated Cement team which also swept the title.
“If it is for the national cause, we’re always ready to help,” said Wongchuking. “While this year’s competition is a lot stronger than in 2016, we are certain we can bring total entertainment to thousands of Filipino workers there.”
“Coach Charles will have his hands full this time because some of the best teams in Asia are also taking part to gain more toughness in time for the World Cup,” Wongchuking added.
Tiu said labeled Tunisia, Japan, Korea and Iran as the teams to beat in the annual event won five times by a Philippine side.
“Tunisia won the Afrobasket recently. Of course we can’t belittle the host country Taiwan,” said Tiu who is burning lines to find suitable imports for the team.
Back for his third tour of duty for Mighty Sports is Fil-Am Jason Brickman while Jason Gray and Roosevelt Adams, who helped Mighty Sports finish third in the tough Dubai Invitational tournament, will once again suit up for the team.
Former PBA star Joseph Yeo and MPBL MVP Gab Banal, who also both played for Mighty in the Dubai joust, have also been tapped along with former Ateneo player Aaron Black.
