STRONG GROUP STAYS UNDEFEATED, DOMINATES CHINESE TAIPEI-WHITE
NEW TAIPEI CITY - Strong Group Athletics notched its fifth straight win in dominant fashion, dismantling Chinese Taipei-White, 107-75, in the 44th William Jones Cup on Thursday evening at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium.
The wire-to-wire victory was powered by a scorching first-half performance from Tajuan Agee, who more than made up for his off night against Australia by dropping 25 points on an ultra-efficient 10-of-12 shooting. The 27-year-old forward added six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block—all in just 15 minutes and 32 seconds of action before sitting out the rest of the game.
“Played great today. Guys were locked in from the start,” said head coach Charles Tiu after the game. “Tajuan Agee was great and dominated them from the start. Best offensive basketball for us.”
Strong Group, a team backed by Bet88 and UAAGI, jumped out to an early 39-24 lead, then widened the gap with a crushing 22-9 run to close the first half, highlighted by 11 quick points from Agee. The halftime score read 61-33, and the game was never in doubt from there.
“We are getting better every game,” Tiu continued. “27 assists and finally double-digit three-pointers made. It was a satisfying performance.”
Indeed, the victory was SGA’s most complete outing in the tournament so far. After struggling from long range in their first four games (22.6% clip), the Filipinos finally found their rhythm, draining 14-of-31 attempts from beyond the arc for a 45.2% shooting rate.
With Agee, Andre Roberson, Ange Kouame, and DJ Fenner taking a breather in the second half, Tiu turned to his bench, allowing big men Geo Chiu and Allen Liwag to log valuable minutes ahead of the tournament’s final stretch—including a highly anticipated clash with undefeated Bahrain (6-0), which could decide the gold.
BCAL-East MVP Ian Miller kept the momentum going with an eight-point flurry in the third quarter to maintain a 28-point cushion, 82-54, entering the final frame. Fenner returned briefly in the fourth and added timely buckets to help keep the lead secure at 87-61 with under five minutes to play.
SGA dominated nearly every statistical category, outrebounding Chinese Taipei-White 52-39 and outpassing them 27-15 in assists.
Miller ended with 13 points and three boards, while Javi Gomez de Liaño posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Kiefer Ravena, who is steadily fitting into his role as floor general, added 11 points and six assists.
Rhenz Abando and Dave Ildefonso also tallied 10 points each in the lopsided win while Geo Chiu got eight points on a 4-of-4 clip with five rebounds.
Strong Group will look to stay undefeated as they take on Malaysia tomorrow at 3 p.m., before their highly awaited showdown with Bahrain.
But for now, it’s another step in the right direction for Tiu and company.
“Today was our best offensive showing yet,” Tiu said. “Hopefully we can build on this momentum heading into the final stretch.”
