RAIN OR SHINE playmaker Chris Tiu and beefy center Beau Belga will provide Mighty Sports additional firepower and stability when it vies for supremacy in the Dubai International Basketball Championship slated Feb. 17-25 in the United Arab Emirates.
An original member of Gilas Pilipinas, Tiu will share minutes with former Ateneo hotshot Keifer Ravena and former PBA MVP Willie Miller while Belga’s toughness in the shaded lane is another plus to a team seeking its second international title.
The Dubai trip marks the first time that Tiu will be playing with fellow ex-Xavier School stars Jeron Teng and Jett Manuel in the team that will be handled by his younger brother and former Gilas assistant coach Charles Tiu.
Meantime, Mighty Sports Association president Dr. John Sy expressed the club’s profound gratitude to ROS owners Raymond Yu and Terry Que for allowing their players to suit up for the team.
“Mighty Sports will be playing in Dubai not only as a club team but will also represent our country so we are fully behind in its quest for another glory,” said Yu. “As long as it is for our national interest we’re going to help anyone.”
Mighty Sports is fast gaining international fame since its grand sweep of the Jones Cup in Taiwan and a runner-up finish in the tough Singapore championship last year.
With a strong cast of reinforcements, led by NBA veteran Hasheem Thabeet and former Ginebra import Justin Brownlee, Sy is convinced Mighty Sports can give their rivals a very good fight for the crown.
“The team is now almost complete, and coach Charles is doing everything to make the team play as one big unit,” said Sy. “We have a talented team so coach Charles is making sure the imports will embrace their roles and play unselfish basketball.”
Expected to help the 7-foot-3 Thabeet patrol the shaded lane are naturalized Filipino Marcus Douthit and NBA veteran Dominic McGuire.
Tiu will be assisted by Bo Perasol – the veteran University of the Philippines tactician who engineered the team’s Jones Cup conquest.