Another solid showing from Chris McCullough gave Strong Group Athletics its second Jones Cup win. SGA/Jones Cup

 

MAKATI–Strong Group Athletics continued its fine showing early into the Jones Cup by drubbing Australian club BSBL Guardians, 91-69, on Sunday at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei.

Strong Group quickly blasted off against BSBL, outscoring them, 34-10, in the first quarter, before limiting them anew to just 14 in the second to virtually seal the win.

BSBL got its offensive game going in the third period by scoring 27 points, but Strong Group’s lead was already too huge to overcome.

Chris McCullough put up 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting including 3-for-5 on threes, seven rebounds, one block, and one steal for Strong Group, now 2-0 in the tournament.

Ange Kouame added 16 points, 10 rebounds, and one block.

Dave Ildefonso, RJ Abarrientos, and Caelan Tiongson, who will all miss the PBA Draft later Sunday at the Glorietta Activity Center here due to their Strong Group commitment, tallied seven, six, and four points, respectively.

Rhenz Abando, who made his Jones Cup debut after sitting out Saturday’s win against the United Arab Emirates, also had four markers, including a highlight dunk, along with one rebound, one steal, and one block.

Jesse Ghee had 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and one steal for BSBL, which fell to 0-2.

Box Scores:

Strong Group 91-McCullough 23, Kouame 16, Agee 14, Heading 9, Ildefonso 7, Abarrientos 6, Tiongson 4, Abando 4, Ravena 3, Manalili 2, Fenner 2, Liwag 1

BSBL 69-Ghee 19, Bior 14, Howey 12, Magier 12, Bentley 5, Trego 3, Wilson 2, Zhu 2, Zarco 0, Pang 0, Chen 0, Weng 0

Quarterscores: 34-10, 49-24, 72-51, 91-69