It was a mission accomplished for the entire Strong Group Athletics Philippines as they finished the 44th William Jones Cup with a record 8-0, beating United Arab Emirates in their final game last July 20, Sunday.
A “STRONG” Finish Against UAE
SGA is already crowned as champions after beating the undefeated Bahrain yesterday. Despite the assured trophy finish, Head Coach Charles Tiu wanted to still go for a sweep.
With the championship already in the bag, Andre Roberson, one of the team’s top performers throughout the tournament, was given the night off.
UAE, which entered the game winless, managed to keep pace early, trailing by just one at halftime, 37–36. But the tide quickly turned after the break. Tajuan Agee and Allen Liwag fueled a strong third quarter that helped the Filipinos establish a double-digit lead, 62–52, heading into the final frame.
Kiefer Ravena and Dave Ildefonso then took control in the fourth quarter, anchoring a 25–10 run that buried any hopes of a UAE comeback and sealed a wire-to-wire tournament sweep.
FINAL SCORE: 87-62
Despite the loss, UAE received a spirited performance from Filipino-Emirati guard Khalifa Khalil Salem, who tallied 18 points, six assists, five rebounds, and three steals. Teammates Omar Alshabebi and Ahmed Albreiki added 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Credits: Strong Group Athletics via Facebook
Multiple players stepped up for SGA to complete the tournament sweep:
- Tajuan Agee – 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal
- Kiefer Ravena – 13 points, a rebound, 9 assists
- Derrick Fenner – 12 points, 2 rebounds
- Ian Miller – 12 points, a rebound, 4 assists
- Dave Ildefonso – 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal
- Allen Liwag – 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks
- Jason Brickman – 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal
- Javi Gómez de Liaño – 3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals
- Geo Chiu – 2 points, 3 rebounds and an assist
- Ange Kouame – a point and 6 rebounds
- Rhenz Abando – 2 rebounds and a block
SGA has now won 16 straight games going all the way back to last years’ William Jones Cup. Strong Group’s back-to-back championships made them the first Philippine team in Jones Cup history to accomplish the feat.
Making a “STRONG” Impression
Credits: Strong Group Athletics via Facebook
2 reinforcements from the Philippines have been named All-44th William Jones Cup Team, these are Andre Roberson and Tajuan Agee.
Credits: Strong Group Athletics via Facebook
For the MVP award of the tournament, it was given to the former NBA veteran, Andre Roberson.
Job Finished for Head Coach Charles Tiu
Bringing majority of his players that played for him last year, SGA Head Coach Charles Tiu shared his thoughts on their final game:
“It’s special, especially because I don’t know if we will be able to have this group again,” said head Coach Charles Tiu.
“DJ [Fenner] and [Jason] Brickman are probably joining the draft, Javi [Gomez de Liaño] and Rhenz [Abando] will probably have different teams already, and we don’t know where our other guys will be next year. But we had a great group of guys — guys committed to winning and sacrificing for the team. It’s rare to have this kind of chemistry and character on one team.”
Despite how easy the sweep looked like, Coach Charles still thanked his superiors for trusting him for the success of his squad.
“It’s always an honor to win a championship again — we never take anything for granted,” added Tiu. “Our bosses go all out every time to win and support our teams whenever we represent the country.”
Before beating UAE, the Philippines started their campaign winning against Chinese Taipei A in their game opener, 67-56. They then defeated Japan 79-67, followed by Qatar 81-54, Australia 91-75, Chinese Taipei B 107-7, Malaysia 106-98 and Bahrain 92-68.
A Short International Pocket Tournament in Manila Soon?!
Aside from sharing his thoughts for their journey in winning back to back titles, Head Coach Charles Tiu also hinted of a possible international pocket tournament to be played in the Philippines.
“We haven’t figured out what’s next, but Boss Frank [Lao], Boss Jacob Lao, and I are talking about potentially hosting an invitational in Manila. I’ve spoken to some teams and they’re interested, so let’s see,” he said.
“But for now, we’re just going to enjoy the moment here.”
It can be recalled that last February 2025, after the infamous semifinals game of SGA in the 34th Dubai International Basketball Championship, long time sports insider Snow Badua made a facebook post with a similar topic in which superiors of the Strong Group Athletics Organization are planning of making a short international pocket tournament of our own to be played in the Philippines as well.
