Chris McCullough stars anew as Strong Group Pilipinas improves to 2-0 in Jones Cup
Strong Group-Pilipinas continued its dominant run in the 43rd William Jones Cup with a resounding 91-69 victory over Australia’s BSBL Guardians on Sunday, July 14, at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Taiwan.
Once again, former San Miguel import Chris McCullough led the charge for the Filipinos, showcasing his scoring prowess with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting in just 22 minutes of play.
McCullough’s stellar performance followed his impressive showing in the team’s opening game, where he led Strong Group with 15 points in a 104-79 win over United Arab Emirates on Saturday, July 13. The three-year NBA veteran wasted no time in making an impact against BSBL, scoring 10 of his 23 points in the first 10 minutes of the game – matching the total points of the Australian team in the opening quarter.
Backed by McCullough’s explosive start and Ange Kouame’s 8 first-quarter points, Strong Group established a commanding 34-10 lead over BSBL heading into the second period.
Despite BSBL’s attempts to narrow the gap in the second half, Strong Group maintained control, with Rhenz Abando sealing the victory with a powerful dunk over BSBL’s Caden Bentley.
In addition to McCullough’s offensive outburst, Kouame recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Tajuan Agee added 14 points for Strong Group.
Jordan Heading’s three-point shooting prowess contributed 9 points to the team’s total, with Dave Ildefonso and RJ Abarrientos chipping in 7 and 6 points, respectively.
On the opposing side, Jesse Ghee led BSBL with 19 points as they fell to a 0-2 record in the tournament. Strong Group is now set to face the Ukraine national team on Monday, July 15, at 5 pm, as they aim to maintain their unbeaten streak in the competition.
The scores:
Strong Group 91 – McCullough 23, Kouame 16, Agee 14, Heading 9, Ildefonso 7, Abarrientos 6, Tiongson 4, Abando 4, Ravena 3, Manalili 2, Fenner 2, Liwag 1.
Australia 69 – Ghee 19, Bior 14, Howey 12, Magier 12, Bentley 5, Trego 3, Wilson 2, Zhu 2, Zarco 0, Pang 0, Chen 0, Weng 0.
Quarterscores: 34-10, 49-24, 72-51, 91-69.
