𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗶𝗹𝗯𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻, 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗛
For 44 years, the William Jones Cup had never crowned a back-to-back champion from the Philippines — until Strong Group Athletics stormed onto the stage and rewrote the script with a historic repeat.
Even with the absence of former Oklahoma Thunder Andre Roberson, the Charles Tiu-mentored squad caught fire late and dismantled the United Arab Emirates with an 87-62 finish at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City on Sunday, July 20, sealing their second straight Jones Cup crown with a clean sweep.
Strong Group had a tightly contested opening half, but then woke up and never looked back in the second, as they outscored their foes 50-26 thanks to Kiefer Ravena’s clutch shots to help the Philippines etch their name into the tournament’s history.
Ravena was later named as Player of the Game due to his late-game baskets and finished the game with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Helping him carry the load, Tajuan Agee also tallied 20 points on top of five rebounds, four assists, and one steal, while DJ Fenner and Ian Miller posted 13 markers each.
But the back-to-back title was already in the bag even before the UAE game.
A day earlier, SGA had already secured the championship title by dominating Bahrain, 92-68, ultimately becoming the tournament’s lone unbeaten team and replicating their perfect 8-0 record from last year.
The Philippines started off this year’s campaign on a high note, as Roberson went for consecutive double-double productions that led to victories over Chinese Taipei-Blue, 67-56, and Japan, 79-67.
Strong Group continued their rampage in the following matches, clinching successive games with an 81-54 rout over Qatar, a 91-75 drubbing over Australia United, and a one-sided 107-75 win over Chinese Taipei-White.
The closest the Tiu-mentored squad had to a challenge in the tournament was seen last Friday against Malaysia, wherein they struggled to shut down their foes on defense, but they still managed to pull through in the end with a 106-98 finish.
This historic win marked the eighth time a Filipino team took home the top spot in the tournament.
