By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--Mighty Sports suffered an early roadblock in the Dubai International Basketball Tournament, dropping a 75-83 decision to Sale in their opening game early Saturday (Philippine Time).
The Morrocan side caught fire late, but it was still timely enough to hold off the Filipino squad.
Both teams actually started slow with the first half ending with Sale holding a 30-25 lead. Mighty was even limited to only seven points in the first quarter before slowly getting its rhythm in the second.
They began to get their scoring going in the third quarter with Mighty outscoring Sale, 26-25, to cut the lead to four, 55-51.
Mighty started the fourth on a high note, finally taking the lead, 60-57, with 8:37 left.
But Sale pulled away thanks to a 13-2 run within the final three minutes of the game.
Brandon Freeman went on fire off the bench, finishing with 28 points, one rebound, one assists, two blocks, and two steals for Sale.
Justin Brownlee also sizzled off the bench, leading Mighty with 27 points, four rebounds, and one steal.
Jeron Teng, who has been a steady scorer for AMA in the PBA D-League, was held scoreless in his Mighty debut.
Former NBA veteran Dominic McGuire made a good account for himself with Mighty, finishing with nine markers, eight boards, two dimes, and a steal.
Former second overall pick Hasheem Thabeet struggled for Mighty, only tallying five points and four caroms, although he also had three blocks.
Box Scores:
Sale 83-Freeman 28, Najah 13, Elmasbahi 11, Kourdou 11, Zouita 8, Almuheisny 6, Choua 6, Boufarasse 0, Stowbridge 0
Mighty 75-Brownlee 27, Ravena 11, McGuire 9, Douthit 8, David 8, Intal 7, Thabeet 5, Teng 0, Tiu 0, Banal 0, Miller 0, Araña 0
Quarterscores: 15-7, 30-25, 55-51, 83-75
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