By MARK REY MONTEJO
Strong Group Athletics closed out its three-peat bid with a statement win over Chinese Taipei Blue, 117-74, but was eventually relegated to the battle for 5th place in the 2026 William Jones Cup at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium Thursday, Aug. 20.
The Philippine-based club imposed its will throughout the contest, dominating the crowd favorites particularly in the second half where it seized a 92-49 lead.
However, the victory was not enough to salvage its semifinal hopes despite its stellar 5-1 finish in the group stage, as organizers automatically handed the Final Four berth to Taipei Blue.
SGA improved to 5-1, but it still settled for second in Group A, with South Korea securing the No. 1 seed despite the Charles Tiu-mentored crew boasting a +14.0 point differential advantage over Korea’s Wonju DB Promy in pool play.
Taipei Blue concluded its group-stage campaign with a 1-5 win-loss card.
This decision was earlier addressed by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) which revealed its abrupt change of format that benefitted the shorthanded Taipei Blue.
SGA now takes on Jordan for 5th place this Friday, Aug. 21, at the same venue. On the other hand, Taipei Blue forges a semis clash against UC Irvine Anteaters of the United States.
Taipei White and the Ethan Alvano-powered Korea figure in the other semis bracket.
For head coach Charles Tiu, the rousing triumph wasn’t only just to showcase what they are capable of but also proved that they have the merit for the championship.
“We wanted to really blow out Taipei to show that we were the ones who deserved to be playing for the championship,” said Tiu.
“We’ve really hit our stride and are playing at a high level right now. It’s just so, so unfortunate that this is the way things are set up,” he added.
Regardless of the format, SGA aims to conclude its Jones Cup campaign on a high note.
“We want to continue to represent the Philippines and our community here with pride, so we will finish strong,” Tiu continued.
Isaiah Pineiro sparked SGA on both ends with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Boban Marjanovic logged 12 points and six rebounds. Remy Martin and Wright added 19 and 18 points.
Starring for the locals was Titing Manalili who posted 13 points, eight assists, and six rebounds, while DJ Fenner tallied 10 points and four rebounds.
Xie Ming-Jun and Chen Chiang-Shuang steered Taipei Blue with 18 and 14 points, respectively.
