It was Mighty Sports' fourth consecutive win in the 2020 Dubai International Basketball Championship on Tuesday.
Mikey Williams and Renaldo Balkman found their rhythm in the third quarter, as Mighty Sports went 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the second half to negate a sloppy start and complete a Group B sweep at the Shabab Al Ahli Club in the United Arab Emirates.
Williams poured in 11 of his team-high 22 points after the break, while Balkman chipped in eight of his 20, as the pair outscored the entire Lebanese club during that stretch. The two also ended up with a combined four assists in the win. Overall, Mighty Sports shot an 56 percent from the field, including a 10-for-37 percent clip from long range.
Mighty now will face the fourth-seeded team that will emerge out of Group A in the single knockout quarterfinals, which will tip-off on January 30, 11 p.m in Manila.
Beirut led for most of the first half as an error-prone Mighty Sports struggled to find their groove. However, the Philippine contingent finally took control in early in the second half after Williams sank a triple to put his team on top, 43-40.
Balkman and Williams alternated hitting from deep before Williams buried his third 3 of the quarter with 21 seconds left to vault Mighty Sports to a commanding 69-54 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Williams drained two more treys in the fourth, as Mighty Sports' lead grew to as much as 17. Mighty Sports' McKenzie Moore put the finishing touches on the victory with nine of his 14 points in the last 12 minutes. He also tallied seven rebounds, two steals and a block.
Meanwhile, Andray Blatche posted another productive outing with 12 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Jelan Kendric added six.
Jamie Malonzo put up 10 points and four rebounds in 13 minutes, while Thirdy Ravena gathered five points and three rebounds in a start.
Beirut (1-3) was led by Jerom Johnson, who tallied 30 points, nine rebounds and three assists in a losing effort. Elias Rustom and Tony Hawkins chipped in 19 and 14 each. However, Beirut shot poorly (3-for-11) from the free throw line. They also were outrebounded 42-27.
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