Unable to join the PBA Draft Combine due to their commitments with Strong Group, hopefuls Caelan Tiongson, RJ Abarrientos, and Dave Ildefonso used their game against the United Arab Emirates in the 43rd William Jones Cup as their audition for PBA teams.
The trio all contributed to Strong Group’s dominant 104-79 win over UAE on Saturday afternoon at Xinzhuang Gymnasium.
In his first pro game in two years, Tiongson, a 6-foot-4 banger, showed no rust, dropping 13 points on a perfect 5-of-5 clip, along with four steals and a block.
Meanwhile, Abarrientos, a 5-foot-11 sniper, demonstrated his ability as an ace floor general by tallying 10 assists and scoring nine points, all from deep.
Ildefonso, on the other hand, did the other things in 21 minutes of play, finishing with six points.
It was a dominant start for Strong Group to open their campaign in this annual tradition for Filipino teams, racing to a 32-18 start and never looking back.
Chris McCullough led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Kiefer Ravena needed just 16 minutes to tally 11 points, eight assists, and two steals.
Strong Group will next face the Brisbane South Basketball League Guardians on Sunday.
Rhenz Abando and Titing Manalili sat out the game.
Demarco Dickerson was the high point man for UAE with 29 points.
The Scores:
Strong Group 104 – McCullough 15, Tiongson 13, Agee 12, Ravena 11, Kouame 9, Abarrientos 9, Heading 9, Fenner 8, Ildefonso 6, Liwag 6, Chiu 4, Ynot 2.
UAE 79 – Dickerson 29, Alzaabi 15, Albreiki H. 12, Albreiki A. 8, Hussein 5, Alzaabi 4, Ahmad S. 3, Ahmad A. 0, Alsawan 2, Khatam 0.
Quarterscores: 32-18, 50-32, 73-57, 104-79.
