43rd William Jones Cup MVP Chris McCullough of Strong Group Athletics-Philippines. Photo from Facebook/SGA. MANILA — Chris McCullough is set to represent the Philippines through Strong Group Athletics once again.

The 34th Dubai International Basketball Tournament-bound squad announced on Tuesday that the former San Miguel Beermen import would be replacing Terry Larrier as SGA looks to finally rule the tilt.

“Thankfully, he decided to play for us again. He just wanted to hoop,” said the College of Saint Benilde Blazers mentor.

“To be honest, he was the one who found ways to get permission to play for us, and it says a lot about him wanting to play for the Philippines. We’ve got a good relationship, and I’m so looking forward to working with him again,” Tiu added.

McCullough was a key cog in SGA’s championship run in the 2024 William Jones Cup last July, putting up 21.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks en route to winning the tourney’s MVP honors.

READ: McCullough speaks on game-fixing allegations in title match against Taipei-A

He will now be joining fellow former NBA players Demarcus Cousins and Malachi Richardson, as well as Rhenz Abando, Dave Ildefonso, Mikey Williams, Jason Brickman, Angelo Kouame, Andray Blatche, Allen Liwag, Tony Ynot, and Justine Sanchez.

This edition of SGA is seeking redemption following their heartbreaking, 77-74 buzzer-beating loss in last year’s finals against Al Riyadi, and they will start their campaign on Friday, January 24, against the Dubai National Team at 11:00 p.m., Manila time.

Also part of their group assignments are Al Nasr on Sunday at 1:00 a.m., Amman next Tuesday at 1:00 a.m., and Beirut next Thursday at 1:00 a.m. The top four teams will advance to the crossover quarterfinals of the Dubai tilt.