JORDAN Heading and Caelan Tiongson are the first to commit to Strong Group for its campaign in the 43rd William Jones Cup, set from July 13 to 21, 2024, in Taipei.
Heading is no stranger to Strong Group, having been part of the Athletics team that finished second in the 2024 Dubai International Basketball Championship.
The 6-foot-2 sniper averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in Dubai.
READ Heading tells Gilas coach Tim Cone he's 'just one call away'
He is currently playing for the West Adelaide Bearcats in NBL1 Central, averaging 19.14 points on 46.81-percent shooting from the field, with 4.14 assists and 3.43 rebounds.
“Jordan was an automatic choice for me once I found out he'd be available to play,” said Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu about Heading.
“We loved how he played for us in Dubai, and now he gets to go back to his original shooting guard spot to complement our point guards.”
Meanwhile, Tiongson is a 6-foot-4 Filipino-American banger who played for Alab Pilipinas during the 2018-19 ASEAN Basketball League season before joining the Taoyuan Leopards in the T1 League from 2021-22.
In his only season with Taoyuan, Tiongson averaged 13.5 points and 9.1 rebounds in 19 games played.
Tiu said that the Jones Cup will be a good gauge for Tiongson, who is planning to join the PBA Draft.
“I’ve been in touch with Caelan for a while, helping him figure out his next moves before joining the PBA draft. We figured this would be a great opportunity for him to remind people how good he is,” said Tiu about the 32-year-old Tiongson.
“He's a hard worker, tough and competitive, who is versatile and can play multiple positions, defend, and rebound very well. I think he will be a huge asset for our team.”
Strong Group is aiming to become the seventh Philippine representative to win the Jones Cup - and the first since Mighty Sports back in 2019.
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