Strong Group is set to leave Manila a little before midnight on Wednesday to jumpstart its redemption tour against a powerhouse cast of competitors in the 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship at the Al Nasr Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Headed by eight-time National Basketball Association All-Star Dwight Howard and former Gilas Pilipinas star Andray Blatche with Charles Tiu as head coach, the Filipino club will be taking a nine-hour flight to Dubai via Emirates at 11:30 p.m.

Upon arrival, they are expected to have a light workout on Thursday in preparation for the opening of hostilities on Friday against the national team of the United Arab Emirates.

Its 11:15 p.m. (Manila time) battle against the Emiratis will be challenging for Strong Group.

UAE is coming off an impressive run in the Arab Nations Cup in Egypt last week. The Emiratis made it as far as the semifinals before bowing to the home team, 78-114.

DeMarco Dickerson, a United States-born playmaker who played in the NBA G League, is tipped to carry the fight for the Emiratis after averaging 21.7 points and five rebounds in the Arab Nations Cup.

Tiu, who led College of Saint Benilde to back-to-back Final Four appearances in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, said they are bracing for tough battles from teams whom they already faced in the past couple of years.

"These are the same pieces that I've been playing in this tournament for the past five years or so," said Tiu, who also mentored Mighty Sports to the title in 2020 with former Philippine Basketball Association import Renaldo Balkman as reinforcement.

But last year, Tiu and the Strong Group fell prey in the quarterfinals, making this year a redemption tour for the Filipino stalwarts.

After the UAE, Strong Group will tackle Al-Wahda Damascus of Syria at 9:15 p.m. on Saturday.

Al-Wahda Damascus, a 10-time Syrian Basketball League champion, will be led by American center Isaac Banks, who averaged 16 points and 11.5 rebounds in his past two games.