McCullough, Heading fuel Strong Group comeback win vs. Ukraine for 3-0 start

Chris McCullough and Jordan Heading flaunted their veteran presence to steer Strong Group Athletics to an 82-74 win against Ukraine national team in the 2024 William Jones cup on Monday in Taiwan.

The 29-year-old McCullough starred with a team-high 28 points, highlighted by a personal 8-0 run late in the game and laced with six rebounds, two assists, and one block while Heading poured in 24 markers, three boards, and three dimes as the Philippine representative was off to a 3-0 start.

Ukraine, meanwhile, fell to a winless 0-2 slate.

Ukraine, which ranks just one spot higher in the world rankings than the Philippines at no. 36, opened the third quarter with more intensity after unleashing an 11-0 run led by Pavlo Krutous. SGA slowly sliced the gap and headed to the fourth trailing by just four, 58-54.

And while some of his teammates were misfiring, another veteran guard in Kiefer Ravena rose to the occasion by burying two triples before McCullough completed a three-point chance to retake a 73-72 lead with 1:49 to go.

McCullough then created some separation from Oleksandr Antypov before nailing a huge three-pointer and sinking two more free throws to send SGA to a six-point advantage.

Four straight freebies from both Ravena and Heading sealed the comeback win for SGA, which remained undefeated after back-to-back wins against UAE and BSBL Guardians.

SGA will look to solidify its hold of the top spot when it takes on another unbeaten team Malaysia on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News