CHRIS McCullough buried clutch shots as Strong Group Athletics-Pilipinas overcame Ukraine, 82-74, on Monday in the William Jones Cup in New Taipei City.
McCullough scored the go-ahead three-point play with 1:49 left, 73-72, which he followed with a three that sealed SGA's third win in as many games.
Strong Group, however, was tested by Ukraine's national team, falling behind by as many as nine points after their opponents went on an 11-0 start to the third quarter.
READ McCullough, Kouame power SGA to second straight Jones Cup win
Still down 58-54 at the end of the third, the Philippine-based team responded with a 28-16 fourth quarter to deal Ukraine its second loss in as many outings.
McCullough finished with 28 points, six rebounds, and two assists, while Jordan Heading had 24 points while going 4-of-6 clip from three-point range.
Kiefer Ravena added 10 points, all in the fourth quarter, and four assists for Strong Group Athletics, which will take a respite on Tuesday before facing Malaysia Hariman the following day.
The scores:
Strong Group Athletics-Pilipinas 82 – McCullough 28, Heading 24, Ravena 10, Kouame 9, Agee 7, Fenner 2, Tiongson 1, Abarrientos 1, Ildefonso 0, Abando 0, Chiu 0.
Ukraine 74 – Shundel 17, Novitskyi 12, Antypov 11, Kobzystyi 10, Koniev 8, Kozak 3, Serheiev 3, Koshevatskyi 0, Lesyk 0.
Quarters: 27-21; 43-41; 54-58; 82-74.
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