Strong Group taps Heading, Tiongson for Jones Cup

MANILA, Philippines -- The Strong Group Athletics (SGA) squad that will be going to the 43rd William Jones Cup has started to take form after securing the services of Jordan Heading and Caelan Tiongson.

Two months before the start of the basketball meet, SGA secured the commitments of Heading and Tiongson, who have experience playing overseas.

The spitfire Heading also took part in SGA's quest in the 2024 Dubai International Basketball Championship, averaging 10.3 points, 3.9 assists and 2.6 rebounds.

He is playing for the West Adelaide Bearcats in NBL1 Central with averages of 19.1 points, 4.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game on 46.8% shooting.

"Jordan was an automatic choice for me once I found out he'd be available to play," Strong Group 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.

Tiongson, on the other hand, played for the Taoyuan Leopards in the T1 League in 2021-22.

In his lone season in the Taiwan basketball league, the 6-foot-4 Tiongson averaged 13.5 points and 9.1 rebounds in 19 games played.

The Jones Cup will also be a good gauge for Tiongson, who is eyeing 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," Tiu said.

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."

SGA will try to win the country's seventh Jones Cup championship, five years after Mighty Sports took home the gold.