By MARK REY MONTEJO
Strong Group Athletics’ three-peat bid got off to a rocky start after losing to a South Korea club, 110-79, in the Jones Cup at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City on Friday, Aug. 14.
Though bannered by Serbian 7-foot-5 Boban Marjanovic, SGA found no answer to Korea’s red-hot shooting from afar, not to mention its powerful inside plays to break the game wide apart early.
The Ethan Alvano-led Wonju DB Promy even roared to a 43-22 lead in the second frame to hand SGA its first loss in the event in three years.
SGA came into the game armed with a 16-game winning run, but that hardly mattered as the Korean team fired from almost all cylinders.
SGA tried to cut the deficit into a single digit but Korea was in mood to play around.
Up next for the Charles Tiu-mentored crew is Japan this Saturday, Aug. 15, at the same venue, while Group A leader South Korea battles host Chinese Taipei-Blue.
Tajuan Agee topscored for SGA with 21 points on top of 10 rebounds, three assists, and one steal, while Puerto Rican reinforcer Isaiah Piñeiro and Malick Diouf backed him with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Marjanovic, a former Serbia national team player who played in different NBA teams, pulled off six points and one rebound in his SGA debut. William Navarro, Derek Fenner, and Titing Manalili combined for 22 points in a losing cause.
Rayshaun Hammonds and Filipino-American Alvano steered the Korea side with 25 and 21 points.
