MANILA, Philippines – Strong Group-Pilipinas got off to a dominant 2-0 start in the 43rd William Jones Cup after posting yet another convincing win, this time against Australia’s BSBL Guardians, 91-69, on Sunday, July 14, at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Taiwan. 

For the second game in a row, former San Miguel star import Chris McCullough led the charge for the Filipinos as he went off for 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting in just 22 minutes of play. 

Fourth quarter

• FINAL: Strong Group improves to 2-0 in the 43rd William Jones Cup after another dominant 91-69 thrashing of Australia
• STRONG GROUP 91-67: Allen Liwag splits from the line
• STRONG GROUP 90-67: Kiefer Ravena fires and hits from long distance
• STRONG GROUP 87-67: Titing Manalili gets on the board for the Philippines
• STRONG GROUP 85-67: Rhenz Abando soars high and posterizes Australia’s Caden Bentley
• STRONG GROUP 83-67: Back-to-back threes by Australia’s Jesse Ghee and Dhieu Magier to cut the lead to 16
• STRONG GROUP 81-61: Ange Kouame forces his way inside for a deuce
• STRONG GROUP 79-61: Atem Bior swishes the fadeaway
• STRONG GROUP 79-59: Atem Bior scores, Caden Bentley adds two more from the line for Australia
• STRONG GROUP 79-55: Angus Howey and Ange Kouame trade buckets down low
• STRONG GROUP 77-53: RJ Abarrientos buries the wide-open trey
• STRONG GROUP 74-53: Angus Howey drills two freebies for Australia
• STRONG GROUP 74-51: Caelan Tiongson nails the fadeaway jumper

Third quarter

• END OF 3Q: Strong Group just 10 minutes away from its second win as it keeps a 72-51 edge versus Australia
• STRONG GROUP 72-51: Jesse Ghee steps back for a deuce
• STRONG GROUP 72-49: Chris McCullough goes 2/2 again from the line
• STRONG GROUP 70-49: Chris McCullough now with 21 points after sinking two free throws
• STRONG GROUP 68-49: Jesse Ghee hits again, this time from downtown
• STRONG GROUP 68-46: Jordan Heading fires his first triple of the second half, Jesse Ghee answers with a layup
• STRONG GROUP 60-36: Atem Bior cans two free throws, Jesse Ghee adds two more for Australia
• STRONG GROUP 60-34: Atem Bior scores again for Australia, Chris McCullough with an easy two-handed dunk
• STRONG GROUP 58-32: Chris McCullough takes it strong inside for a crafty layup
• STRONG GROUP 54-30: Angus Howey goes 2/2 from the line
• STRONG GROUP 54-28: Atem Bior lays it in, Tajuan Agee counters with a long bomb
• STRONG GROUP 51-26: Atem Bior knocks down two charities for Australia
• STRONG GROUP 51-24: Chris McCullough scores off his own miss

Second quarter

• HALFTIME: Strong Group continues its blowout of Australia with a 49-24 advantage
• STRONG GROUP 49-22: Atem Bior spins and finishes for Australia
• STRONG GROUP 49-20: Caden Bentley knocks down a triple for Australia
• STRONG GROUP 49-17: Dave Ildefonso cleans up his own miss
• STRONG GROUP 47-17: Ange Kouame with an easy undergoal stab
• STRONG GROUP 45-17: Caelan Tiongson scores down low
• STRONG GROUP 43-17: Rhenz Abando scores his first basket in the Jones Cup
• STRONG GROUP 41-17: Dave Ildefonso joins the Philippines’ three-ball party
• STRONG GROUP 38-15: Dave Ildefonso stops and pops for a mid-range hit
• STRONG GROUP 36-15: Angus Howey converts inside, plus the foul. He sinks the bonus
• STRONG GROUP 36-12: Tajuan Agee and Dhieu Magier exchange twos to start the second period

First quarter

• END OF 1Q: Strong Group finds the early touch from beyond the arc for a 34-10 lead over Australia
• STRONG GROUP 34-10: Tajuan Agee goes 2/2 from the line
• STRONG GROUP 32-10: Dhieu Magier finally stops Australia’s drought with a layup
• STRONG GROUP 32-8: Chris McCullough hits the mid-range jumper
• STRONG GROUP 30-8: Tajuan Agee lobs it up to Chris McCullough for the two-handed jam
• STRONG GROUP 28-8: Tajuan Agee steals and slams in transition
• STRONG GROUP 26-8: Back-to-back threes by Jordan Heading
• STRONG GROUP 23-8: Jordan Heading gets on the board with a corner three
• STRONG GROUP 20-8: Tajuan Agee completes an and-one play
• STRONG GROUP 17-8: Jesse Ghee cleans up the miss, Ange Kouame counters with a two-handed slam
• STRONG GROUP 15-6: RJ Abarrientos pulls up from downtown
• STRONG GROUP 12-6: Angus Howey sinks another triple for Australia, Ange Kouame responds with a deuce
• STRONG GROUP 10-3: Chris McCullough answers with his second trey
• STRONG GROUP 7-3: Australia gets on the board with a long bomb
• STRONG GROUP 7-0: Ange Kouame spins and scores off a feed by RJ Abarrientos
• STRONG GROUP 5-0: Ange Kouame swishes the mid-range jumper
• STRONG GROUP 3-0: Chris McCullough steps back for a three

Starters

• STRONG GROUP: Abarrientos, Ildefonso, Tiongson, McCullough, Kouame
• AUSTRALIA: Ghee, Trego, Maigier, Bior, Howey

Preview

After an easy 25-point romp of United Arab Emirates in its 43rd William Jones Cup opener, Strong Group-Pilipinas will be put to the test when it takes on Australia’s BSBL Guardians on Sunday, July 14.

Bolstered by former NBA player and San Miguel import Chris McCullough, the Filipinos hardly broke a sweat in their opening-day matchup as they led UAE the entire ball game. 

Four players scored in double figures for Strong Group in the dominant wire-to-wire win, with McCullough firing a team-best 15 points, along with 10 rebounds and 5 assists.

Expect McCullough to once again be at the forefront of Strong Group’s attack against the gritty Aussies as they eye a 2-0 start in the single round-robin tournament. 

Unlike Strong Group, the Guardians are coming off a heartbreaking 69-65 defeat at the hands of powerhouse Future Sports USA on Saturday, July 13.

As the Guardians try to bounce back from their narrow opening-day loss, look for Dhieu Magier to deliver the goods anew for the Aussies after his team-high 15-point performance went down the drain against the Americans.  

Game time is 1 pm. – Rappler.com