By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Jordan Heading and Caelan Tiongson are the first to commit to the Strong Group Athletics (SGA) Philippines for the 43rd William Jones Cup scheduled from July 13 to 21 in Taipei, Taiwan.

For Heading, this is his second time to play for SGA after joining the squad that finished second in the 2024 Dubai International Basketball Championship earlier this year.

The 6-foot-2 sniper, who is currently playing for the West Adelaide Bearcats in NBL1 Central, averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds for SGA in Dubai.

“Jordan was an automatic choice for me once I found out he’d be available to play,” SGA head coach Charles Tiu said.

“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,” he added.

On the other hand, Tiongson will have an opportunity to showcase his talents with the SGA team before he applies for the 2024 PBA Rookie Draft later this year.

“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,” Tiu said about the 6-foot-4 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,” he added.

The SGA is aiming to capture the Philippines’ seventh William Jones Cup championship, since the Mighty Sports topped the event back in 2019./ASC, WDJ