MANILA, Philippines – After blasting Japan U22 for its sixth straight win, undefeated Strong Group-Pilipinas moved a step closer to capturing the 2024 William Jones Cup title.
But before its virtual gold-medal showdown against fellow unbeaten Chinese Taipei-Blue in the tournament finale, Strong Group-Pilipinas aims to take care of business versus Chinese Taipei-White in its penultimate game on Saturday, July 20.
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SECOND QUARTER
- STRONG GROUP 57-31: Jordan Heading swishes corner three
- STRONG GROUP 54-31: Titing Manalili converts his first field goal inside
- STRONG GROUP 52-31: Chris McCullough scores two charities
- STRONG GROUP 50-31: Mouhamed Mbaye tough fastbreak finish
- STRONG GROUP 50-29: Chris McCullough fastbreak layup off the Titing Manalili no-look pass, and-one
- STRONG GROUP 47-29: RJ Abarrientos goes 2/2 from the line
- STRONG GROUP 45-29: Chris McCullough for two, Chen Yu Wei quick response inside
- STRONG GROUP 43-27: Guan Da You fastbreak layup
- STRONG GROUP 43-25: Chen Yu Wei splits from the line, streaks back for two
- STRONG GROUP 43-22: Chris McCullough goes 1/2 from the stripe
- STRONG GROUP 42-22: DJ Fenner splits from the line
- STRONG GROUP 41-22: DJ Fenner quick response two
- STRONG GROUP 39-22: Lin Yan Ting for three off the timeout
- STRONG GROUP 39-19: Jordan Heading adds two more for the 20-point lead. Timeout Taiwan-B, 7:21 left.
- STRONG GROUP 37-19: Kiefer Ravena loses his man and streaks in for the layup
- STRONG GROUP 35-19: Mouhamed Mbaye spins and scores inside
- STRONG GROUP 35-17: Kiefer Ravena adds two from the line
- STRONG GROUP 33-17: Dave Ildefonso gets on the board with a long three
- STRONG GROUP 30-17: Chen Li Sheng scores two free throws
FIRST QUARTER
- END OF FIRST QUARTER: Strong Group rides a 20-5 start to double up on Chinese Taipei-White, 30-15
- STRONG GROUP 30-15: Geo Chiu 2/2 from the line
- STRONG GROUP 28-15: Yu Ai Che tough contested layup
- STRONG GROUP 28-13: Chris McCullough splits from the line
- STRONG GROUP 27-13: Kiefer Ravena quick three off the bench
- STRONG GROUP 24-13: Zhang Jia He quick two
- STRONG GROUP 24-11: Chris McCullough splits from the line
- STRONG GROUP 23-11: Zhang Jia He fastbreak layup
- STRONG GROUP 23-9: RJ Abarrientos nails his second three
- STRONG GROUP 20-9: Zhang Jia He easy layup
- STRONG GROUP 20-7: Mouhamed Mbaye scores two free throws
- STRONG GROUP 20-5: Tony Ynot adds two more to the pileup
- STRONG GROUP 18-5: RJ Abarrientos goes showtime behind the back for the DJ Fenner two
- STRONG GROUP 16-5: Chris McCullough goes 2/2 from the line
- STRONG GROUP 14-5: Yu Wei Chen for three to stop the early bleeding
- STRONG GROUP 14-2: RJ Abarrientos quick three off the timeout
- STRONG GROUP 11-2: RJ Abarrientos finds DJ Fenner for the corner three. Timeout Taiwan-B, 7:11 left.
- STRONG GROUP 8-2: Tony Ynot dumps inside for the Geo Chiu easy layup
- STRONG GROUP 6-2: Tony Ynot steal and score
- STRONG GROUP 4-2: Chris McCullough easy layup
- CHINESE TAIPEI-WHITE 2-2: Mouhamed Mbaye and DJ Fenner trade quick twos
- STRONG GROUP STARTERS: Chris McCullough, DJ Fenner, Geo Chiu, Tony Ynot, RJ Abarrientos
Preview
Thanks to another monster outing by Chris McCullough, the Filipinos enjoyed control of the entire game against the Japanese, 92-79, despite the absences of Rhenz Abando, Ange Kouame, and Tajuan Agee.
For the sixth consecutive outing, McCullough led Strong Group in the scoring department with 26 points on a healthy 12-of-17 shooting, while DJ Fenner backstopped the former San Miguel Beermen import with 17 points.
Although they are already assured of a top-two finish in the tournament, expect McCullough to maintain his dominant form as Strong Group tries to avoid an upset at the hands of Chinese Taipei-White.
Like Strong Group, Chinese Taipei-White (3-3) emerged triumphant on Friday, July 19, after a 108-97 win versus Future Sports USA (1-6).
Game time is 5 pm. – Rappler.com