CHRIS McCullough captured the MVP award of the 43rd William Jones Cup following Strong Group Athletics' thrilling run to the championship.
McCullough averaged 21.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks in Strong Group's eight-game sweep of the tournament which it capped with an 83-79 overtime win over Chinese Taipei-A on Sunday night.
McCullough joins Renaldo Balkman (Mighty Sports, 2019), Dawarick Spencer (Mighty Sports, 2016), LA Tenorio (Gilas Pilipinas, 2012), Kenneth Duremdes (RP Centennial Team, 1998) in the list of players from Philippine-based clubs which won the MVP in one of the most prestigious tournaments in Asia.
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The former San Miguel import, however, struggled on Sunday when he finished with 12 points and only made 4-of-16 from the field, his lowest scoring output and worst shooting night of the tournament.
He also grabbed five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, but later fouled out of the game with 2:05 remaining in overtime, ending a frustrating night for the SGA import that didn't cost him the MVP trophy.
Still, McCullough delivered the key basket down the stretch, when his attempt that was blocked by Brandon Gilbeck at the 2:43-mark of overtime was ruled a goaltending violation, giving SGA an 80-78 lead.
McCullough’s best offensive output of the tournament was against Ukraine where he had 28 points during their third game last Monday.
He also had a huge outing against Future Sports-USA last Thursday when he scored 24 points and hauled 18 rebounds for Strong Group.
It was later reported that Chinese Taipei is eyeing McCullough to be its naturalized player. The 29-year-old expressed interested in becoming such for Gilas Pilipinas ever since he became an import for SMB during the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup.
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