Strong Group opens redemption tour in Dubai with win vs UAE National Team

The Philippines' Strong Group Athletics opened its redemption bid in the Dubai International Basketball Championship with a win against the United Arab Emirates National Team, 99-91, Friday at the Al Nasr Club.

Strong Group was comfortably leading 93-78 with less than five minutes in the fourth period before the UAE National Team made an 8-0 run to inch closer. DeMarcus Cousins broke the short dry spell for one of the Philippine representatives before Hamid Abdullateef drilled a triple to give UAE a chance with 2:16 remaining. 

A floater from Rhenz Abando and a Chris McCollough dunk gave Strong Group a 10-point lead before cruising onto the victory despite DeMarco Dickerson's late basket.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu described the victory as an ugly one, but promised to be better moving forward.

"Ugly first win for us over the revamped UAE national Team (with their new imports). Good to get the rust out of the way in our very first game as a team. We did not have a single tune up game in our preparations. We will definitely come out much better tomorrow," he said on his post.

Ugly first win for us over the revamped UAE national Team (with their new imports). Good to get the rust out of the way in our very first game as a team. We did not have a single tune up game in our preparations. We will definitely come out much better tomorrow!

— Charles Tiu (@charlestiu) January 24, 2025

McCollough had 28 points, six rebounds, and an assist, while Cousins added 24 points. Malachi Richardson had 21 points, while Abado led the locals with 13 points.

Dickerson led UAE with 25 points, while Qais Alshabebi had 23 points and seven boards in the losing effort.

Strong Group will next face Al Nasr on Saturday at 9:00 p.m. (UAE time), while fellow Philippine team Zamboanga Valientes will open its campaign against Sharjah SC at 7:00 p.m.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News