Jordan Heading and Caelan Tiongson are the first to commit to Strong Group for its campaign in the 43rd William Jones Cup.
This year’s mid-year tournament will take place from July 13 to 21, 2024, in Taipei, Taiwan.
Heading is no stranger to Strong Group, as he was part of the Athletics team that finished second in the 2024 Dubai International Basketball Championship.
The 6-foot-2 sniper averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in Dubai.
He is currently playing for the West Adelaide Bearcats in NBL1 Central, averaging 19.14 points on 46.81-percent shooting from the field, with 4.14 assists and 3.43 rebounds.
(C) B.League
“Jordan was an automatic choice for me once I found out he’d be available to play,” said Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu about Heading.
“We loved how he played for us in Dubai, and now he gets to go back to his original shooting guard spot to complement our point guards.”
Meanwhile, Tiongson is a 6-foot-4 Filipino-American banger.
After suiting up for Alab Pilipinas during the 2018-19 ASEAN Basketball League season, he joined the Taoyuan Leopards in the T1 League from 2021-22.
In his only season with Taoyuan, Tiongson averaged 13.5 points and 9.1 rebounds in 19 games played.
Tiu said that the Jones Cup will be a good gauge for Tiongson, who is planning to join the PBA Draft.
Photo from Taoyuan Leopards
“I’ve been in touch with Caelan for a while, helping him figure out his next moves before joining the PBA Draft. We figured this would be a great opportunity for him to remind people how good he is,” said Tiu about the 32-year-old Tiongson.
“He’s a hard worker, tough and competitive, who is versatile and can play multiple positions, defend, and rebound very well. I think he will be a huge asset for our team.”
Strong Group is aiming to win the Philippines’ seventh William Jones Cup championship, with Mighty Sports being the last Philippine team to win the event back in 2019.
