MANILA, Philippines – Strong Group-Pilipinas wasted no time flashing its dominance in the 43rd William Jones Cup as it stormed past United Arab Emirates in its opening assignment, 104-79, on Saturday, July 13, at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Taiwan. 

Former San Miguel Beermen import Chris McCullough shone the brightest for the powerhouse Strong Group with an all-around stat line of 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Fourth quarter

• FINAL: Strong Group makes easy work of UAE, 104-79, for a 1-0 start in the Jones Cup
• STRONG GROUP 104-77: RJ Abarrientos with a crafty no-look pass to Geo Chiu for the two-handed jam, plus the foul
• STRONG GROUP 99-72: UAE with a 5-0 run, Caelan Tiongson joins the Philippines’ three-ball party
• STRONG GROUP 96-67: UAE finally ends its drought with a triple, Allen Liwag tips in Dave Ildefonso’s miss
• STRONG GROUP 94-64: Allen Liwag and Dave Ildefonso with back-to-back hits to extend the Philippines’ lead to 30
• STRONG GROUP 90-64: Caelan Tiongson scores inside, plus the foul. He misses the bonus
• STRONG GROUP 88-64: Caelan Tiongson drops it off to Geo Chiu for an easy finish
• STRONG GROUP 86-62: Chris McCullough finds RJ Abarrientos for a transition trey
• STRONG GROUP 83-62: Tajuan Agee completes a three-point play
• STRONG GROUP 79-62: DeMarco Dickerson goes 2/2 from the stripe for UAE
• STRONG GROUP 79-60: DJ Fenner with a smooth fastbreak layup
• STRONG GROUP 77-60: UAE opens the final frame with a trey, but Dave Ildefonso and Tajuan Agee answer with two consecutive layups

Third quarter

• END OF 3Q: Strong Group continues its blowout of UAE with a 73-57 cushion
• STRONG GROUP 73-57: DeMarco Dickerson with a personal 5-0 run for UAE
• STRONG GROUP 73-50: DeMarco Dickerson steps back for a three, Allen Liwag connects on a two-pointer
• STRONG GROUP 71-45: Chris McCullough and Tajuan Agee with back-to-back dunks in transition
• STRONG GROUP 67-45: Ahmed Abdullateef and Chris McCullough exchange twos this time
• STRONG GROUP 65-42: Hamid Abdullateef and Kiefer Ravena trade long bombs
• STRONG GROUP 60-39: UAE with a long two, Ange Kouame goes 1/2 from the line
• STRONG GROUP 59-37: DeMarco Dickerson fires from long distance for UAE, Ange Kouame answers with a two-handed slam
• STRONG GROUP 57-34: UAE scores, Kiefer Ravena swishes his second triple of the game
• STRONG GROUP 54-32: Caelan Tiongson starts the second half with two consecutive layups

Second quarter

• HALFTIME: Strong Group keeps a double-digit lead over UAE, 50-32
• STRONG GROUP 50-32: Chris McCullough tips in Jordan Heading’s miss, UAE responds with a triple
• STRONG GROUP 48-29: Dave Ildefonso stops and pops from mid-range
• STRONG GROUP 46-29: Tony Ynot cleans up his own miss
• STRONG GROUP 44-29: UAE stops its drought with a three-pointer
• STRONG GROUP 44-26: DJ Fenner soars high for a two-handed slam in transition
• STRONG GROUP 42-26: Ange Kouame hits inside, RJ Abarrientos knocks down his first trey
• STRONG GROUP 37-26: Chris McCullough splits from the line
• STRONG GROUP 36-26: Ange Kouame scores again down low
• STRONG GROUP 34-26: Ange Kouame gets on the board with a deuce, UAE answers with a triple
• STRONG GROUP 32-23: UAE with a quick 5-0 run to open the second quarter

First quarter

• END OF 1Q: Strong Group gets off to a sizzling start with a 32-18 lead over UAE
• STRONG GROUP 32-18: Jordan Heading uncorks another trey off an assist by Kiefer Ravena
• STRONG GROUP 28-13: UAE counters with its own three, but Kiefer Ravena and Caelan Tiongson answer with two quick baskets
• STRONG GROUP 24-10: Kiefer Ravena dishes it to Jordan Heading for a long bomb
• STRONG GROUP 21-10: Tajuan Agee and Chris McCullough with back-to-back baskets to extend the lead back to double figures
• STRONG GROUP 17-10: UAE scores off the timeout, Caelan Tiongson responds with an undergoal stab
• STRONG GROUP 13-2: Tajuan Agee spins and scores
• STRONG GROUP 11-2: Chris McCullough finds the wide-open Kiefer Ravena for a corner trey
• STRONG GROUP 8-2: DJ Fenner sinks two free throws
• STRONG GROUP 6-2: UAE gets on the board, DJ Fenner answers with an easy layup
• STRONG GROUP 4-0: Chris McCullough with back-to-back hits inside
• STRONG GROUP 2-0: Chris McCullough opens the scoring with a putback layup

Starting lineup

• STRONG GROUP: Ravena, Heading, Fenner, Agee, McCullough
• UAE: Alsawan, Alameri, Dickerson, Albreiki, Almaazmi

Preview

Strong Group-Pilipinas looks to open its 43rd William Jones Cup campaign on a high note when it battles the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, July 13.

Bannered by the likes of overseas-based Filipino basketball stars Kiefer Ravena, Jordan Heading, and Rhenz Abando, as well as former San Miguel Beermen import Chris McCullough, the star-studded Strong Group squad aims to live up to its billing and reclaim the gold the country last won in 2019.   

Last year, the Philippines – which was then represented by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters – finished seventh in the nine-team field with a disappointing 2-6 slate. 

Mentored by coach Charles Tiu, Strong Group takes on a familiar UAE national team, which it previously dominated in the Dubai International Basketball Championship earlier this year, 82-66.

However, it’s going to be a completely different ball game this time for the Filipinos as they no longer have former NBA players Dwight Howard and Andre Roberson on their roster. 

In that 16-point demolition of UAE in the Dubai International Basketball Championship last January, Roberson and Howard paced the Philippines with 15 and 14 points, respectively. 

Now with an all-new lineup, count on McCullough to show the way for Strong Group in this opening-day showdown, as well as solid contributions from Ravena, Heading, RJ Abarrientos, and Filipino-American guard DJ Fenner, among others. 

On the other side, look for Qais Alshabebi, Hamid Abdullateef, and DeMarco Dickerson to lead UAE as they hope to redeem themselves against Strong Group.

Game time is 1 pm. – Rappler.com