By MARK REY MONTEJO
Strong Group Athletics demolished Bahrain, 92-68, and became the first-ever club team from the Philippines to win a back-to-back title in the 44th William Jones Cup at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium in Taiwan Saturday, July 19.
Thanks to its second-half surge against the Bahrainis, SGA etched itself as the first Philippine-based club to win the title two in a row while giving the country its eighth overall championship – in the annual meet that started in 1977.
With a pristine 7-0 slate, it was enough for a team with —imports to rule the competition despite having one assignment left and its closest pursuer in Chinese Taipei Blue has two more games remaining.
Regardless of what would be the outcome, SGA will end its historic run against the United Arab Emirates this Sunday, July 20, at the same venue.
“It feels great to win again,” said head coach Charles Tiu. “We prepared hard for this tournament. Our players played hard throughout—from the locals to the imports. I tip my hat off to them. Great group of guys.”
“Hoping we can finish it off with a sweep, even with the championship in tow,” Tiu added.
Andre Roberson starred anew after pumping in 25 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block, while Tajuan Agee contributed 19 points.
Javi Gómez de Liaño led the local charge with 12 points, while Rhenz Abando added 11 points.
Subah Azzam topscored for Bahrain with 14 points, with Abdulqader Mohamed posting 12 points in a losing effort. Mohamed Hamoda and Ahmed Haji chipped in 10 points apiece.
The Filipino dribblers leaned on their offense, dishing out 25 assists and unloading 12 triples.
Before its coronation, SGA hurdled Taipei Blue (67-56), Japan U25 (79-76), Qatar B (81-54), Australia’s NBL1 Rising Stars (91-75), Taipei White (107-75), and Malaysia (106-98).
