Mighty Sports blows out Iran U23 in rousing Jones Cup debut

Eugene Phelps

Mighty Sports-Go for Gold Philippines got off to a great start at the 41st William Jones Cup with a 98-72 blowout against Iran U23 at the Xinzhuang Gym in New Taipei City, Taiwan on Friday, July 12. Former PBA import Eugene Phelps (198-F-90, college: LBSU) led the opening rout with 24 points and 6 rebounds while young Fil-Am guard Jeremiah Gray piled on 16 markers, 5 boards and 3 assists. Import McKenzie Moore (198-G-92, college: UTEP) added 15 points, 4 dimes and 3 rebounds while fellow import Renaldo Balkman (203-F-84, college: S.Carolina, agency: Aspire Sports) and Fil-Am Mikey Williams chipped in 10 markers apiece. Mighty asserted dominance from the get-go after a 21-12 1st quarter leading to a 46-33 gap at the half. The 2nd half didn't make things any better for Iran as Mighty launched a 14-4 run at the start of the 3rd to push the lead to 60-37. The Charles Tiu-coached squad peaked the beatdown as high as 34 points, 87-53, at the 8:20 mark of the 4th off an emphatic alley-oop slam from Hamady N'Diaye (213-C-87, college: Rutgers).. Iran got the lead below 20 at multiple points in the frame, but never got any closer as Mighty closed them out for good. National team member Valid Dalirzahan led the young Iranians with 14 points while Amirhossein Azari (192-SF-98) and Mohammad Vand added 12 markers apiece. Mighty faces Jordan next on Saturday, July 13, 1 pm.
Courtesy of: rappler.com