MANILA, Philippines – Strong Group-Pilipinas goes for gold in its highly productive 2024 William Jones Cup campaign as it stakes its undefeated 7-0 record against fellow top squad Chinese Taipei-Blue in Taiwan on Sunday, July 21.
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Third quarter
- END OF 3Q: Strong Group hangs on to a slim 55-50 edge over the surging Chinese Taipei-Blue
- PHILIPPINES 55-50: Ange Kouame with a putback
- PHILIPPINES 53-50: Ying-Chun Chen from way downtown
- PHILIPPINES 53-47: Chris McCullough gets two free throws to go
- PHILIPPINES 51-47: Gil Baker hook shot is good
- PHILIPPINES 51-45: DJ Fenner buries his second triple
- PHILIPPINES 48-45: Adam Hinton uncorks a long bomb
- PHILIPPINES 48-42: DJ Fenner answers with his own mid-range hit
- PHILIPPINES 46-42: Robert Hinton nails the short jumper
- PHILIPPINES 46-40: Shih Hsuan Su skies for a tough reverse finish
- PHILIPPINES 46-38: Tajuan Agee swishes from outside
- PHILIPPINES 43-38: Chris McCullough and Robert Hinton exchange buckets
- PHILIPPINES 41-36: Gil Baker starts the second half with an undergoal stab
Second quarter
- HALFTIME: Strong Group stays ahead of Chinese Taipei-Blue with a 41-34 lead
- PHILIPPINES 41-34: Tajuan Agee completes an and-one
- PHILIPPINES 38-34: Quick 6-0 blast by Chinese Taipei after a Ying-Chun Chen long bomb
- PHILIPPINES 38-31: Robert Hinton makes the defense pay with a wide-open trey
- PHILIPPINES 38-28: Tajuan Agee bullies his way inside for a layup
- PHILIPPINES 36-28: Robert Hinton connects on his first free throw, but misses the second one
- PHILIPPINES 36-27: Chris McCullough 1/2 from the line
- PHILIPPINES 35-27: Shih Hsuan Su cans a trey
- PHILIPPINES 35-24: Gil Baker and Chris McCullough trade jumpers
- PHILIPPINES 33-22: Tajuan Agee gets open for a three
- PHILIPPINES 30-22: 6-0 run for Strong Group after two free throws by DJ Fenner
- PHILIPPINES 28-22: RJ Abarrientos makes two free throws
- PHILIPPINES 26-22: Rhenz Abando adds two more from the stripe
- PHILIPPINES 24-22: Ying-Chun Chen answers with his own pair of freebies
- PHILIPPINES 24-20: DJ Fenner drains two charities
- PHILIPPINES 22-20: Cheng Liu banks in a putback
- PHILIPPINES 22-18: Rhenz Abando splits his foul shots
- PHILIPPINES 21-18: DJ Fenner cleans up RJ Abarrientos’ miss
- PHILIPPINES 19-18: RJ Abarrientos gets it to go from long distance
- CHINESE TAIPEI 18-16: Jin Wei Gao floats one in
- 16-16: Cheng Liu ties the game with a technical free throw
- PHILIPPINES 16-15: Adam Hinton for three
First quarter
- END OF 1Q: Strong Group leads Chinese Taipei-Blue in a low-scoring battle, 16-12
- PHILIPPINES 16-12: Back-to-back threes by Strong Group as DJ Fenner hits from deep
- PHILIPPINES 13-12: Rhenz Abando lets it fly from beyond the arc
- CHINESE TAIPEI 12-10: Adam Hinton pulls up from mid-range
- 10-10: Robert Hinton still on fire as he drills another triple
- PHILIPPINES 10-7: Tajuan Agee goes 2/2 from the line
- PHILIPPINES 8-7: Robert Hinton scores again for Chinese Taipei
- PHILIPPINES 8-5: Robert Hinton fires from deep, Kiefer Ravena counters with his second trey
- PHILIPPINES 5-2: Kiefer Ravena lights it up from long distance
- 2-2: Chris McCullough stops and pops for a mid-range jumper
- CHINESE TAIPEI 2-0: Gil Baker starts the scoring with a teardrop
Starters
- PHILIPPINES: Kiefer Ravena, Jordan Heading, Caelen Tiongson, Chris McCullough, Tajuan Agee
Preview
Already beyond avenging Rain or Shine-Philippines’ lackluster run last year, the undermanned yet talented Strong Group looks for a perfect finish this time around as the likes of super import Chris McCullough and all-around guards Jordan Heading and RJ Abarrientos continue to fire on all cylinders.
Even without naturalized Filipino Ange Kouame, Fil-Am veteran Caelan Tiongson, defense-first import Tajuan Agee, and Gilas Pilipinas high-flyer Rhenz Abando in the active roster, the Charles Tiu-coached squad proved it has more than enough firepower after last blasting Chinese Taipei-White, 96-70.
McCullough lived at the line for 25 points on 10-of-13 free throws, while backcourt partners Kiefer Ravena and Abarrientos scored 14 and 13, respectively, to help keep Strong Group undefeated in the weeklong tournament with a brutal daily schedule, where the team with the best record at the end of the single round-robin bags the title.
Expect the same core to keep up its stellar play as the prime Chinese Taipei team comes knocking on Sunday evening, carrying its own unbeaten slate.
But Tiu said Abando and Kouame will play through their injuries, while Agee will be a game-time decision as the American import was discharged from the hospital on Saturday after suffering from food poisoning.
“Rhenz’s hand is still swollen and the same goes for Ange’s knee, but they will play through it since this is an all-or-nothing game,” said Tiu. “They know how important this game is for the country.”
Tiu added: “We will be watching Agee’s minutes closely since he has been very dehydrated because of the gastro issues he suffered. His health is important, but his presence on the court is also crucial for us.”
Strong Group aims to keep its 43rd Jones Cup run spotless until the very end, while home team Chinese Taipei-Blue looks to ruin the visitors’ party with a last-minute golden heist.
Tip off is at 7 pm. – Rappler.com