An old hand will be returning to help Strong Group Athletics regain the title in the 34th Dubai International Basketball Championship that starts on Friday at the Al Nasr Sports Club in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Strong Group announced that it tapped Chris McCullough to serve as one of its reinforcements to replace Terry Larrier in the prestigious inter-club tournament.

Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu said he is thrilled to reunite with the 29-year-old forward as they seek to redeem themselves from a heartbreaking 74-77 loss to Lebanese powerhouse Al Riyadi Beirut in the gold medal match last year.

“Thankful that he decided to play for us again. He just wanted to hoop,” said Tiu, whose wards will tip things off against the UAE men’s national team on Friday at 11 p.m. (Manila time).

“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.”

McCullough is no stranger to the Strong Group.

In fact, he was at the helm when he powered the club to the 43rd William Jones Cup title in Taiwan last year. He took the tournament by storm, averaging 21.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game to emerge as Most Valuable Player.

At Strong Group, the former San Miguel Beer reinforcement will team up with National Basketball Association veterans DeMarcus Cousins, Malachi Richardson, and Andray Blatche as well as the local crew of Rhenz Abando, Dave Ildefonso, Chris Koon, Mikey Williams, Jason Brickman, Ange Kouame, Liwag, Tony Ynot, Justine Sanchez, and National Collegiate Athletic Association Most Valuable Player Allen Liwag.

The squad is set to fly to Dubai on Thursday.

“We left no stones unturned in assembling this team. From the coaching staff to the roster, every decision was made with the goal of giving our country another historic championship,” Strong Group president Jacob Lao said.