By MARK REY MONTEJO
Strong Group Athletics, getting better and sharper, notched its second straight win after dismantling Chinese Taipei Blue, 97-78, in the 2026 William Jones Cup on Sunday, Aug. 16, at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
Following their breakthrough 78-72 triumph over Japan, the SGA cagers came out with another inspired performance, taking a 50-38 first half lead before breaking the game wide open to improve to 2-1.
The Charles Tiu-mentored crew eyes a repeat against Japan (0-3) this Tuesday, Aug. 18, at the same venue.
Korea still leads the group after claiming its third straight win in as many games. Taipei Blue slipped to 1-2.
Tiu expressed his delight after seeing his wards leveling up their game but wants more especially on the defensive end.
“Great team win for us. We’re slowly coming together. Remy (Martin) played great, and Boban (Marjanović) stepped up. It’s nice to see us playing this way. We’ll slowly get better game by game,” said coach Tiu.
“We definitely need to defend the three-point line better. That will be key. But it will be about us and building our chemistry,” he added.
Puerto Rican import Isaiah Piñeiro struck hardest for SGA by collecting 19 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal, while Tajuan Agee also scored 19 on top of three rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block.
Marjanovic played his best game for the Philippine-based club with 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and one block. Martin and William Navarro chipped in 13 and seven points, respectively.
Chun-Yen Kuo led Taipei Blue with 14 points, while Kuie-Yu Chou and Jonah Morrison contributed 12 points apiece in a losing cause.
