Strong Group-Pilipinas continued its impressive start in the 43rd William Jones Cup, defeating the Brisbane South Basketball League (BSBL) Guardians 91-67 for its second win on Sunday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
The imports shone in the victory, with Chris McCullough scoring 23 points and grabbing seven rebounds, while Tajuan Agee tallied 14 points, four rebounds, and two steals in just 14 minutes.
Strong Group, which defeated UAE 104-79 on opening day, dominated the opening quarter with a 34-10 run, setting the stage for a wire-to-wire win.
Starting for the Athletics were McCullough, Angelo Kouame, and the team’s three PBA prospects: Dave Ildefonso, RJ Abarrientos, and Caelan Tiongson.
Ildefonso scored all seven of his points in the first half, Abarrientos contributed six points and three assists, and Tiongson grabbed 11 rebounds along with four points.
Kouame also had a strong game with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Sitting out the game were Geo Chiu and Tony Ynot with Rhenz Abando and Titing Manalili replacing them.
Strong Group will face Ukraine on Monday before taking a one-day break.
The Guardians, now 0-2, had four players in double figures, with Jesse Ghee leading the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Scores:
Strong Group 91 – McCullough 23, Kouame 16, Agee 14, Heading 9, Ildefonso 7, Abarrientos 6, Tiongson 4, Abando 4, Ravena 3, Fenner 2, Manalili 2, Liwag 1.
BSBL 67 – Ghee 19, Bior 14, Magier 12, Howey 12, Bentley 5, Trego 3, Wilson 2, Zhu 2, Pang 0, Zarco 0, Weng 0.
Quarterscores: 34-10, 49-24, 68-50, 91-67.
