IT won’t be an early playoff exit for Strong Group this year as it marched onto the Final Four after toppling Morocco’s AS Sale, 92-80, in the knockout quarterfinals of the 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship on Saturday morning.
Andre Roberson topped the scoresheets with 18 points and nine rebounds on top of two solid 17-piece outings each from Dwight Howard (12 rebounds) and McKenzie Moore (seven rebounds) against a surprisingly gutsy Moroccan side that finished fourth in Group A.
The Philippine side slayed the ghost of its early quarters exit in 2023 to rest and will now gear up for a rematch with Beirut Sports Club — the Lebanese side that lost by 22 to Strong Group in the group phase.
Coming off a perfect five-game run in the leadup to the knockouts, Strong Group was taken aback by the Moroccans’ fast flurry of shots from the opening tip.
But in true ‘Superman’ fashion, Howard hammered one thunderous slam after another to restore order for Strong Group in an unrivaled 19-2 second quarter scoring spree.
Al Sale, however, eagerly caught up with a 10-3 charge to open the second half. But when Howard's fellow NBA alums Moore and Roberson emerged and unleashed, there was no stopping a sharpshooting Philippine side's quest for playoff redemption.
Two triples from Kevin Quiambao, whose consistency shone through yet again, had 15 points topped by an equally strong stand from the team's second unit to add the finishing and winning touches to a semis-clinching performance.
In less than 24 hours' time this Sunday, Strong Group will enter the penultimate stage of its championship hunt versus Beirut (1:15 a.m. Manila time).
The scores:
Strong Group (92) - Roberson 18, Howard 17, Moore 17, Quiambao 15, Baltazar 8, Heading 6, Blatche 4, Ynot 3, Cagulangan 2, Liwag 2, Ynot 2, Escandor 0, Sanchez 0.
AS Sale (80) - Ramon 27, Tyler 20, Aqboub 10, Al Quraishi 6, Benchlikha 5, Buqisho 4, Kourdou 4, Al Mohseni 2, Benabou 2, Dahhan 0.
Quarterscores: 19-21, 44-36, 67-59, 92-80.
