The Taichung Wagor Suns’ Gilas Pilipinas standout Jordan Heading on Sunday put on a show in their 119-115 thriller over the Taoyuan Leopards, sinking eight three-pointers to set a new T1 League record.
The Filipino-Australian sharpshooter posted 32 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, including eight from beyond the arc, to break the record of seven held by Taiwan Beer Herobears captain Chiang Yu-an, Kaohsiung Aquas guard Allen Yu and the Tainan TSG (Taiwan Steel Group) Ghosthawks’ Jordan Chatman.
Heading’s rain of three-pointers included a shot from the far-right corner with 2 minutes, 19 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, and another from the top left arc with just 53 seconds left in the game to lift the Suns to a 113-106 lead over the Leopards.
The Suns managed to keep the lead to outhustle the Leopards before the final buzzer.
In a postgame news conference, Heading credited the thrilling win to teamwork.
“At the end of the game, last minute and a half to two minutes with Sani [Sakakini] fouling out, we really had to just dig deep and find a way to pull out the win,” Heading said.
Suns forward Sakakini, who has played on the Palestine national basketball team since 2006, led all scorers with a double-double of 35 points, 20 rebounds and six assists, while Leopards forward Troy Williams, a former NBA player and 2017 NBA D-League Slam Dunk Contest champion, led his team with 31 points and 11 rebounds.
The experience and confidence of 33-year-old veteran Sakakini rubbed off on the rest of his team.
“I told him: ‘Jordan kill the game,’ and he had the three points when we had the lead near the last 40 seconds,” Sakakini said.
Heading made news across the region in June last year when the 25-year-old guard averaged 6.5 points and 1.5 assists with the Philippines men’s national basketball team during the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, which included a two-game 81-78 and 82-77 sweep against historic rivals South Korea.
The 1.88m Filipino-Australian combo guard went on to post an average of 14.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and three assists at the FIBA Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Serbia in June and July.
The Suns next play New Taipei CTBC DEA at New Taipei City’s Hsinchuang Gymnasium on Sunday.
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