Strong Group Athletics head coach Charles Tiu will take their “ugly win” after a 99-91 victory over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the 34th Dubai International Basketball Tournament on Saturday at the Al Nasr Sports Club.

Tiu admits that while he didn’t like how they played against the Emiratis, he is still satisfied that they were able to get their first-game jitters out of their system.

Former San Miguel Beer import Chris McCullogh led Strong Group with 28 points and six rebounds while four-time National Basketball Association All-Star DeMarcus Cousins drilled in 24 points.

“Ugly first win for us over the revamped UAE national team (with their new imports). Good to get the rust out of the way in our very first game as a team,” Tiu said.

“We did not have a single tune up game in our preparations. We will definitely come out much better tomorrow!”

A jumpshot by McCullough with 9:02 left in the second quarter kickstarted his own 7-2 run as Strong Group never looked back since.

Strong Group even led by 15 points thanks to a triple by Cousins with 4:30 remaining in the fourth period.

One of two teams from the Philippines competing in the tournament, Strong Group is currently playing against Al Nasr at press time at the same venue.

Also competing as of this writing are the Zamboanga Valientes as they face home bet Sharjah SC.

Zamboanga’s 7-foot-7 center Sam Deguara believes they have the chemistry to make a deep run in Group B.

Deguara will be joined by the likes of former Orlando Magic cager Adonis Thomas and former University Athletic Association of the Philippines Most Valuable Player Malick Diouf.

“There is lots of talent here. I think the best players, they can do this job and it’s not that hard to make,” Deguara said.