The Strong Group Athletics Philippines are on a hot streak right now as they go 2 wins in a row, defeating Japan in a comeback last night, July 14, at the 44th William Jones Cup.
Javi Gómez de Liaño to the Rescue
It appears that the Japan under-25 team isn’t familiar with the asian import of Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters in the Korean Basketball League, Javi Gómez de Liaño.
JGDL led the local contingent with an impressive bounce-back performance after a quiet opener, scoring 13 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting clip. The Japanese team opened the game with the first basket, but Strong Group quickly seized control and ended the first quarter with a 21-11 lead.
Japan slowly fought back, tightening up their defense and chipping away at the deficit until Kotetsu Kurokawa tied the game at 39-all early in the third quarter. However, Strong Group responded with a decisive 16-3 run capped by a free throw from DJ Fenner Jr., regaining a double-digit advantage at 55-42.
Heading into the fourth period with a 61-51 cushion, SGA maintained control behind the offensive leadership of Andre Roberson. The lead ballooned to as much as 18 points, 77-59, after Dave Ildefonso completed an and-one play. From there, the Philippines closed out the match comfortably against the younger Japanese squad.
FINAL SCORE: 69-57
Hiyuu Ozawa paced Japan in the losing effort with 21 points, including four three-pointers, while Kotetsu Kurokawa added 13 points and six rebounds.
The former member of the Terrafirma Dyip led the team in local scoring with 13 points (6-of-8 FG shooting) along with 2 rebounds and an assist.
Here are the other players of SGA who contributed to the win:
- Andre Roberson – 15 points, 14 rebounds, an assist, and 5 blocks
- DJ Fenner – 14 points, 8 rebounds, and a block
- Rhenz Abando – 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block
- Tajuan Agee – 10 points, 3 rebounds, and a steal
- Ian Miller – 7 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal
- Allen Liwag – 6 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, and a steal
- Dave Ildefonso – 3 points, 3 rebounds, and a steal
Strong Group Athletics Philippines improves to 2-0 in their title defense while Japan falls down to 1-2. SGA is about to play the Qatar team later today, July 15.
