Deadshot Fil-Am joins SGA for Dubai tilt

Sports

AN ELITE scorer is the latest addition of Strong Group Athletics (SGA) that will represent the Philippines in the upcoming 34th Dubai International Basketball Championship.

SGA announced that it has tapped the services of two-time PBA Finals MVP Mikey Williams, whose sharpshooting and playmaking will certainly give a big boost to a team seeking redemption in the tournament slated from January 24 to February 2.

Williams, the 33-year-old combo guard, who hails from Los Angeles, California, was the fourth overall pick of the TNT Tropang Giga in the 2020 PBA Draft.

The 6-foot-2 Williams is a proven winner as he won two championships to go with the pair of Finals MVP awards.

Williams became controversial when he missed the majority of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup when contract negotiations with TNT came to an impasse. He would later sign a three-year extension with the team but stopped joining the team in the 2023 Governors’ Cup.

The TNT decided to terminate its contract with Williams.

Though he is no longer a part of TNT, Williams could not still join another PBA team without being released by TNT, which still owns his signing rights.

Williams arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday, January 14.

“I’m excited to be working with him again,” SGA coach Charles Tiu said in a statement. “I was quite close to him before. We won two championships together, and hopefully, we can win another one.”

Williams and Tiu were togerher with Mighty Sports, securing the championship at the 2019 William Jones Cup and the 2020 Dubai Basketball Championship.

With the addition of Williams, SGA has assembled a formidable lineup as it has already brought in Rhenz Abando, Dave Ildefonso, Jason Brickman, Angelo Kouame, Andray Blatche, NCAA MVP Allen Liwag, Tony Ynot, and Justine Sanchez.

SGA also tapped explosive imports in former Sacramento King Demarcus Cousins, Malachi Richardson, and Terry Larrier.

SGA is looking to bounce back from a sorry campaign last year as it lost to Al-Riyadi in the title round on a buzzer-beating shot.(CCM)