SINGAPORE—Mighty Sports Apparel Philippines will be playing with a “homecourt advantage” at the 2016 Merlion Cup basketball tournament, which reeled off yesterday at the OCBC Arena.
Filipino expatriates, volunteers in the Basketball Association of Singapore which organized the tournament, said news of the participation of the Mighty Sports Apparel team from Manila has spread like wildfire among Filipinos in this city state.
Mighty Sports was scheduled to play the Seoul Samsung Thunder in the second of two games scheduled last night.
The Merlion Cup is making a comeback after a 20-year hiatus under the aegis of the BAS.
Mighty Sports, which is supported by HC Technology Pte. Ltd., Huishi International Group Co. Ltd., Cebuana Lhuillier and Scratch It, hopes to make it two in a row after winning the 2016 William Jones Cup tournament in Taiwan last July.
Other teams playing in the Merlion Cup are the Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor, Singapore Slingers, Westports Malaysia Dragons, and Shanghai Sharks, which is owned by former NBA superstar Yao Ming.
The team will face the Malaysia Dragons on Friday.
Mighty Sports is bannered by naturalized Filipino former Gilas center Marcus Douthit and PBA veteran Joseph Yeo, and imports Antwain Spencer, Alford Thornton and big man Hamady N’Dyiaye.
They are backed by a crack local crew led by ex-pro TY Tang, Kiefer Ravena, Gelo Alolino, Edrick Ferrer, Gabriel and Raphael Banal, Frank Golla, Jason Deutchman, Jason Brickman, and Matthew Wright.
Head coach Charles Tiu is cautiously optimistic about the team’s chances in the tournament.
“The challenge is to find the right combinations,” he said.