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| Strong Group swept their way to the Jones Cup title. SGA/Jones Cup |
MANILA--Strong Group Athletics survived a gallant fight from Chinese Taipei Blue to score an 83-79 overtime win in the final game of the Jones Cup on Sunday night at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei.
In the game that is fittingly the de facto championship game as well, a jump hook from Chris McCullough, who was struggling all game long, with 2:43 remaining in the extension gave Strong Group the lead for good as the Philippine team never squandered it in the end as Chinese Taipei Blue lost steam.
Brandon Gilbeck thought he made it in time to swat away McCullough's hook shot attempt, but the referees, after a review of the play, ruled that Gilbeck committed a goaltending violation, giving McCullough the two points and his Strong Group squad an 80-78 lead.
However, McCullough committed an offensive foul in the next Strong Group possession, and he had to watch the last 2:05 of the overtime period on the bench after he was called for his fifth foul.
Without arguably their best player, Strong Group turned to its defense to keep Chinese Taipei Blue from retaking the lead, and the Filipinos got a shot at closing out the game after Derrick Fenner stripped the ball from the cutting Gilbeck.
However, Kiefer Ravena missed a pull-up jumper and Tajuan Agee gave up a foul while trying to steal the ball from Ma Chien-Hao with 14.4 seconds left.
Ma, though, could only make a split from the line, keeping Strong Group ahead by one, 80-79.
Jordan Heading then hit two free throws to up their lead to three, 82-79, with 12.2 seconds remaining.
Fenner then grabbed another steal, Gao Jin-Wei's inbound pass intended for Gilbeck, and split his two free throws to ice the game.
Agee, returning to the team after being hospitalized over the weekend due to gastrointestinal problems, stepped up for Strong Group, which finished the tournament 8-0, with 21 points on 5-of-9 field goals including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, nine rebounds, three assists, one block, and two steals.
The six-foot-nine power forward, who has not been steady from the charity stripe throughout the Jones Cup, went 9-for-9 on free throws.
Fenner added 15 points, nine rebounds, one assist, and four steals.
Despite an off night in the final that saw him only tallying 12 points on 4-for-16 field goals and 4-for-8 free throws, and five rebounds, McCullough was named Jones Cup MVP for his steady production throughout the tournament.
The former San Miguel import also had three assists, two blocks, and one steal.
Robert Hinton had 16 points, three rebounds, and one assist for Chinese Taipei Blue, whose only loss in the Jones Cup came right in the championship game, all the more after blowing a 71-64 lead with 1:08 left in regulation.
Chen Ying-Chun, who joined McCullough in the Mythical Five, added 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Gilbeck, also a part of the mythical team, contributed 11 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, and five blocks.
Completing the Mythical Five are naturalized player prospects Mouhamed Mbaye and John Murry of Chinese Taipei White and Malaysia, respectively.
Box Scores:
Strong Group 83-Agee 21, Fenner 15, Abarrientos 14, McCullough 12, Ravena 9, Abando 6, Heading 4, Kouame 2, Tiongson 0
Chinese Taipei Blue 79-R. Hinton 16, Y. Chen 13, Gilbeck 11, Tseng 10, Liu 8, A. Hinton 8, Ma 6, Su 5, Gao 2, Han 0
Quarterscores: 16-12, 41-34, 55-50, 73-73, 83-79
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