STRONG Group Athletics-Pilipinas proved it fittingly deserved its name.
Showing they wanted it more, the Filipino cagers, bolstered by a slew of imports, edged Chinese Taipei-A 83-79 in overtime last Sunday night to bag the 43rd William Jones Cup at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
The thrilling triumph, carved out before a boisterous home crowd, enabled the squad backed by billionaire Frank Lao to emerge as the seventh Philippine side to rule the prestigious cage tilt after Northern Cement (1982), San Miguel (1985), Centennial Team (1998), Gilas (2012), and Mighty Sports (2016 and 2019),
The charges of coach Charles Tiu finished the nine-day tilt with an 8-0 mark.
Armchair pundits and fans threw “game-fixing” allegations to Strong Group reinforcement and former San Miguel Beer import Chris McCullough after he could only notch 12 points on a paltry 4-of-16 shooting in the title game.
But the 6-foot-9 McCullough, who expressed a strong desire to be a Gilas naturalized player in the past, took the criticisms in stride.
“I always rep the flag wherever I played so for some of you fans who’s saying all of this nonsense is ridiculous,” McCullough said on his X (formerly Twitter) account. “Because I didn’t have the best game in a championship game, now I fix games?
“Come on now. It happens and it is what it is. It’s always the next man up.”
McCullough, 29, is now a candidate for naturalization for the Chinese Taipei national team.
He was still named MVP of the tourney with norms of 21.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.
Instead of crying spilt milk, McCullough simply pointed to counterpart Tajuan Agee rising to the occasion with 21 markers and nine boards.
“T (Agee’s nickname) stepped up big. That’s the next man up mentality,” McCullough said, referring to Agee. “He picked up my slack and got the job done.”
DJ Fenner also had 15 and nine for Strong Group, while PBA-bound RJ Abarrientos added 14 points on four three-pointers.
Kiefer Ravena got nine markers, none bigger than a triple that gave Strong Group a 73-71 lead with 13.2 seconds left before Chinese Taipei’s scored on a putback in the last 7.6 ticks that forged the extension.