By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
PHL-based basketball club Strong Group Athletics maintained its unblemished record in the ongoing Dubai International Basketball Championship after getting the better of the Beirut Sports Club, 85-78, on January 28, 2025, at the Al Nasr Club in Dubai.
Fresh off back-to-back convincing wins over the UAE National Team and the Al Nasr squad, Strong Group picked up where they left off after scoring a wire-to-wire victory over Beirut to zoom to a 3-0 win-loss record.
Former NBA star Demarcus Cousins showed the way for Strong Group after dominating Beirut with a stellar double-double performance of 26 points and 12 rebounds.
The newest recruit to the growing Strong Group hoops club achieved his best outing in three games, shooting an efficient 8/16 from the field in just 31 minutes of playing time.
Due to the size advantage that they had, Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu didn’t think twice but to let Cousins operate in the shaded lane, his bread and butter before developing his outside shooting.
Strong Group quickly dumped the ball to Cousins in their first few plays which always resulted in a deuce or a forced foul call on Beirut.
As a result of Cousins’ dominance, Beirut reached early foul trouble in the first and continued to hound them until the final quarter.
Backstopping Cousins in their third straight win was former Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) champion Ange Kouame who chipped in 14 markers.
The multiple UAAP champion was all over the boards for Strong Group, collecting second-chance possessions that turned into offensive points.
Dave Ildefonso also capped off the game with a steady outing of 12 points derived from an efficient 5/6 shooting from the field.
After taking on Beirut, UAE, and Al Nasr, Strong Group will aim for its fourth straight win on January 30, 2025, as they take on the tough Amman United basketball club from Jordan.
