Philippines NLEX Road Warriors registered a 87-80 win over the UAE National Team at the 26th Dubai International Basketball Tournament.
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Just like in their opening game (81-71) win over Ittihad Libya, American import and former NBA player Al Thornton and PBA veteran centre Asi Taulava led the offensive for the Warriors with 22 and 16 points.
Warriors went ahead in the opening minutes with a 10-0 blast and controlled the first quarter, ending it with an 11-point lead, 27-16.
Warriors got more team fouls, 24-12, and were called for more infractions, much to the dismay of the predominantly Filipino crowd.
“We have to understand that they are the home team so we devised a game plan that we will not really get into foul trouble most of the time,” Warriors coach Boyet Fernandez said.
Things got better in the second half for the visiting Philippine team after Jonas Villanueva opened the third period with a triple to spark a 9-0 spurt for a 50-41 lead. They also foiled any attempt by the host team to make a rally with clutch baskets from Mark Cardona and Aldrech Ramos.
A strong drive to the basket by Taulava gave Warriors a comfortable 12-point lead, 80-68, going into the final two minutes.
“We tried to walk the game and took it slow to make UAE get out of their system,” Fernandez said.
“After leading in the first quarter, my boys relaxed and got out of our game plan which let the UAE catch up on us.
“But during the half time break I told my players that we will not win if we play one-on-one and rush our shots.
“Thankfully, after that, our shots went in and our import and locals played well,” added Fernandez.
Despite the loss, the UAE National Team are still assured of a spot in the knockout stages.
Shooting guard Talal Salim led the UAE with 22 points, followed by Qais Omar with 21 points while Khalifa Mubarak and Salih Sultan finished with 17 and 10 markers respectively.
Meanwhile, Sagesse Lebanon maintained a clean 3-0 record and topped Group B after thrashing Salé Club Morocco 107-73 while Zamalek Egypt registered their first win in Group A with a 65-57 victory over Ittihad Libya.
