Shooting guard Jordan Heading celebrated his birthday in style as he led the Taichung Wagor Suns to its fifth consecutive win in a 98-95 victory against the Tainan TSG GhostHawks in Taiwan’s professional basketball T1 LEAGUE on Sunday, on the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve.
The Filipino-Australian sharpshooter led all scorers on his team, posting 28 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and two assists in just over 43 minutes at the game played at the GhostHawks’ homecourt at Chia Nan University’s Shao Tsung Gymnasium in Tainan Sunday.
Born on Jan. 30, 1996, the 26-year-old Heading scored nine points in the first half, but later ignited to fire up 12 points in just 12 minutes in the third quarter, shooting 3-4 within the arc and 2-5 from deep. He also scored seven points in the last quarter.
The victory stretched the Sun’s winning streak to five games just before the T1 LEAGUE goes into holiday mode to celebrate the Lunar New Year this week.
At the post-game press conference, Suns head coach Iurgi Caminos said his team tipped off without rhythm and lacked a general feel of the game because they had been on the road for the last four matchups.
However, they were able to turn the tables from being down 16 points during the second quarter to eventually winning the game, Caminos said. “This is not the first day that I talk about the heart my players put on the court,” Caminos said.
In the game’s final quarter, Heading drained a right-hand floater just outside the key with a little under five minutes left in the last quarter to shorten the deficit to two points at 86-88.
Heading grabbed a defensive rebound and passed to teammate Ting Sheng-ju (???), who was sent to the free-throw line after being fouled on a coast-to-coast play.
Ting sunk both free throws to even the game at 88-88.
Both sides rallied to make the score 92-92 with around one minute and 20 seconds left in the game.
As the clock wound down, Suns power forward Sani Sakakini dished a bounce pass to teammate Julian Wright for a two-hand baseline dunk after the GhostHawks left the backdoor wide open.
With the Suns up by two points and the Tainan team under pressure, GhostHawks guard Jordan Chatman missed a jump shot to give the away team possession of the ball.
A foul to stop the clock at 11 seconds left in the game sent Sakakini to the free-throw line to promptly drain both free throws.
Newly naturalized GhostHawks center William Artino nailed a crucial bucket from beyond the arc with six seconds left in the game to narrow the deficit by one point.
Another fast foul to stop the clock sent Sakakini to the free-throw line to sink another two free throws.
A last attempt by Artino from half-court in the final moments of the game missed the rim to allow the Suns to come away with a 98-95 win.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel