Shooting guard Jordan Heading celebrated his birthday in style on Sunday as he led the Taichung Wagor Suns to their fifth consecutive win in a 98-95 victory over the Tainan TSG GhostHawks in the T1 League on the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve.
The Philippine-Australian sharpshooter led all scorers on his team, posting 28 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists in just over 43 minutes in the game played at the GhostHawks’ home court at Chia Nan University’s Shao Tsung Gymnasium in Tainan.
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 three of four within the arc and two of five from deep. He also scored seven points in the fourth quarter.
Photo courtesy of the T1 League
The victory stretched the Suns’ winning streak to five games just before the T1 League went into a Lunar New Year break.
At the post-game news conference, Suns head coach Iurgi Caminos said his team tipped off without rhythm and lacked a general feel for the game because they had been on the road for the past 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,” he said.
In the fourth quarter, Heading drained a right-hand floater just outside the key with a little under five minutes left to cut 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 about 1 minute, 20 seconds left.
As the clock wound down, Suns power forward Sani Sakakini dished a bounce pass to teammate Julian Wright for a two-handed 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 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 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 before a final attempt by Artino from half-court in the final moments of the game missed the rim to allow the Suns to come away with the 98-95 win.
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