STRONG Group Athletics-Pilipinas essayed an 89-54 rout over Malaysia Hariman on Wednesday to stay unbeaten in the 43rd William Jones Cup in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
The Philippine ballclub closed the third quarter with a 13-0 run, then went on a 30-6 fourth quarter to keep its undefeated streak going in the annual tournament.
By dealing Malaysia Hariman its first loss, Strong Group Athletics and Chinese Taipei-A are the only remaining unbeaten teams with an identical 4-0 win-loss record in the round-robin tournament where the side with the best record wins the title.
Incidentally, the two teams will meet in the final game of the tournament on Sunday.
Chris McCullough had 16 points and five rebounds, while Rhenz Abando played his best game of the tournament by finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds, some of which coming from that late third-quarter flourish.
Barangay Ginebra-bound RJ Abarrientos was also steady as he finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, and two steals for Strong Group.
SGA will face Future Sports Basketball Team, which has a 1-4 win-loss record, on Thursday.
The scores:
Strong Group Athletics-Pilipinas 89 – McCullough 16, Abando 14, Agee 12, Koaume 11, Fenner 10, Abarrientos 9, Ildefonso 8, Heading 4, Ravena 3, Ynot 2, Chiu 0.
Malaysia Hariman 54 – Murry 25, Obasa 13, Bosango 6, Y.H. Wong 3, J. Wong 3, Kuek 2, Ting 2, De 0, Lee 0, Chang 0, J.K. Lee 0, Ragu 0.
Quarters: 21-11; 40-36; 59-48; 89-54.
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