AS he continues to impress for Strong Group Athletics in the ongoing Jones Cup, Jordan Heading is hoping coach Tim Cone is watching.
Though admitting that impressing Cone and the Filipino fans is just secondary to his mission of winning a championship in Taiwan, the Fil-Aussie streak-shooter said he is using his second tour of duty with SGA to showcasing the other facets of his game.
“I’ve been working a lot on expanding my game and not being a shooter anymore. And improving all aspects of my game and not just being a shooter anymore,” Heading told SPIN.ph from his Taiwan hotel room on an off day for SGA.
READ Jordan Heading explains why he had to say no to Gilas call-up
"Improving all aspects of my game, defensively, ball-handling, passing, everything like that, so I can be even more useful to any team that needs me," added the former Gilas Pilipinas mainstay.
“I think there’s a lot more to my game than just a spot-up shooter. If that’s what my role is on the team, I think I can play that role really well. But I think there’s more to my game than just that, you know,” he said.
In Gilas’ game against the world No. 36 Ukraine on Monday night, Heading exploded for 20 first-half points while going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and 3-of-3 from the field, becoming the focus of the Ukraine defense in the second half.
He finished with 24 points.
Heading’s performance complemented the impressive performance of former San Miguel Beer import Chris McCullough, who starred in Strong Group Athletics-Philippines’ 82-74 come-from-behind win.
“But you know, I am coming here with one mindset - that is to win as a team. People respect winning at the end of the day more than anything. And that is what I want to be known, as the guy who contributes to winning basketball,” he said.
Asked if he wished Cone was watching the game, Heading gave a curt reply.
“I supposed so. I mean, he’s (Cone) got RJ (Abarrientos) to watch as well, so he’s got a few reasons to watch this. So why not, you know?” he said in between laughs.
Impressing Cone
“Do I want him (Cone) to be impressed (with my game here in the Jones Cup)? I don’t know. But I think he understands what I can do on the court, otherwise I don’t think he would be considering me for Gilas in the first place.
“So hopefully, this kinda reminds him of what I can do on the floor and how I can help space the floor and how I am happy to do whatever role the team needs me to do,” he said
Heading also reiterated that playing for Strong Group, representing the Philippines, is the closest he can get to playing for the national team again.
“This feeling here with the Strong Group team that’s so deep is pretty similar to some Gilas stints that I have been a part of. There’s so many guys here that have played for Gilas before, we got Kiefer (Ravena) here, RJ, Ange (Kouame), Dave (Ildefonso) and Rhenz (Abando). We got such a deep team that it really does feel like we’re representing the Philippines as sort of the national team,” he said.
As of the moment, Heading bared that he hasn't received a call from Cone, whom he believe has been tied up withGinebra affairs after his trip to Latvia where the Gilas had a Cinderella run in the Fiba Olympic Qualifiers, beating host and world No. 6 Latvia before losing close games to Georgia and eventual champion Brazil.
“He got back from Latvia maybe a day or two before we left for Taiwan. Then he got busy with the Draft Combine and the draft per se. So I wasn’t able to catch up with him. Last time I talked to him was through the phone,” he said.
Heading meanwhile bared that though he has a busy schedule back in Australia with his wife and family, he might be willing to spend a little time in the Philippines should Cone ask for a meeting with him.
“Yeah. I am open to that. But I think Gilas’ next window is November, so there’s more time and opportunity for us to talk about things,” said Heading, who averages 15.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3 assists in Strong Group’s 3-0 campaign so far in the Jones Cup.
Charles pitch
Meanwhile, Strong Group coach Charles Tiu is very optimistic that Heading will return to Gilas.
Hearing the strong clamor of the fans, backed by his two recent campaigns abroad with Heading, Tiu said that his star sniper has improved a lot since their first trip together with the SGA squad that heartbreakingly lost the title at the Dubai Invitational to powerhouse Al Riyadi-Lebanon last February.
“I can say Jordan has improved a lot and has become more impressive. He can play both guard positions at a high level and he’s a legit scoring threat at any level. One of the best shooters out here, a great leader and so coachable. Any coach would love to have him on your squad,” said Tiu.
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