Treat for Pinoys in Dubai

The Philippines has participated in 10 editions of the Dubai International Basketball Championships since Smart Gilas, coached by Rajko Toroman, broke ground in 2010. This year, two Filipino teams are battling for honors in the 34th staging, a first in the history of the competition, on Jan. 24-Feb. 2. What a treat for Filipino fans in the United Arab Emirates if both Strong Group Athletics (SGA) and Zamboanga Valientes make it to the final for an All-Pinoy climax.

Both SGA and Zamboanga are coming in locked, loaded and ready to rumble. But the opposition won’t be easy. SGA is in Group A with the UAE national squad, Al Nasr of Riyadh, Amman United of Jordan and Beirut First of Lebanon. Zamboanga is in Group B with Sagesse of Lebanon, Tunisian national team, Al Ahli Tripoli of Libya and Sharjah of UAE.

It’s likely the UAE national team will be bannered by naturalized import Demarco Dickerson, a 6-5 wingman from NAIA school Siena Heights University in Michigan. Dickerson, 27, played in Sweden, Canada, Hungary, Czech Republic and Egypt before finding a home in Dubai. In last year’s Jones Cup, Dickerson averaged 23.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 31.8 minutes, shooting .377 from three, in eight games for UAE.

Tunisia’s leading scorer is 6-3 guard Omar Abada who has seen action as an import in France, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Ivory Coast and Egypt. Abada, 31, has been a fixture on the Tunisian squad since 2012. In the 2023 FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Nigeria, he averaged 24 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

SGA coach Charles Tiu has the distinction of being the only Filipino mentor to claim a title in Dubai. He did it in 2020 with Mighty Sports featuring Andray Blatche, Renaldo Balkman, Beau Belga, Jeremiah Gray, Mikey Williams, Jamie Malonzo, Joseph Yeo and Jason Brickman. Last year, Tiu nearly claimed another title as SGA bowed to Al Riyadi on a buzzer-beating triple in the final.

Tiu is now back with a vengeance. He won the Jones Cup title with SGA last year and several of his players are on his roster for Dubai. The holdovers are Chris McCullough, Ange Kouame, Rhenz Abando, Dave Ildefonso, Allen Liwag and Tony Ynot. Tiu has added Blatche to the mix along with Malachi Richardson, Williams, Brickman, Chris Koon and Justine Sanchez. McCullough was a late addition, replacing Terry Larrier. Richardson, 29, was the Charlotte Hornets’ first round pick in the 2016 NBA draft from Syracuse and the 6-6 standout played for Sacramento and Toronto in three NBA seasons. La Salle’s Michael Phillips and Mason Amos were invited to join but begged off to focus on their studies in school.

Zamboanga coach Bobedick de los Santos is fresh from piloting the Valientes to the championship of The Asian Tournament Grand Finals. His assistants are UST guard Forthsky Padrigao’s uncle Jade and former UE player Gino Jumao-as. The team’s chief scout is Kevin Connelly whose brother Tim is the Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations. Zamboanga’s lineup lists 7-6 Sam Deguara of Malta, 6-11 former CEU and UP foreign student athlete Malick Diouf, 6-8 Ken Holmqvist (Ginebra’s first round draft pick in 2021), former Orlando and Philadelphia NBA player Adonis Thomas, former PBA players Prince Caperal, Rashawn McCarthy, Mike Tolomia, Kyt Jimenez and Rudy Lingganay, Padrigao, Nic Cabanero and Job Alcantara.