MANILA – Strong Group Athletics-Pilipinas clawed back from near defeat to score an 83-79 overtime win against Chinese Taipei-A and claim the 43rd William Jones Cup crown on Sunday night at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Down 64-71 with under a minute left, the SGA-Pilipinas got two free throws from Tajuan Agee, a layup from Jordan Heading, and two more charity shots from Agee to cut the deficit to 70-71.
The SGA-Pilipinas then took a 73-71 lead on a three-pointer by Ilonggo Kiefer Ravena with 13 seconds left, but Chinese Taipei-A managed to force an overtime on a put back by Brandon Gilbeck.
In the extension period, the SGA-Pilipinas quickly took the lead on a three-pointer by Rhon Jay Abarrientos and two free throws by Agee, but Chinese Taipei-A tied the score at 78-all behind consecutive free throws by Liu Cheng.
The SGA-Pilipinas reclaimed an 80-78 lead on an inside hit by Chris McCullough but Chinese Taipei-A split their freebies on the other side, before the Philippine squad sealed the championship on free throws by Heading and Derrick Fenner Jr.
Agee, who was just discharged from hospital on Saturday after being hit with food poisoning, top-scored for SGA-Pilipinas with 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Fenner chipped in 15 markers, seven rebounds, and four steals, Abarrientos contributed 14 markers for the Charles Tiu-mentored SGA-Pilipinas, which finished the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record.
McCullough, who was reportedly gaining interest as a naturalized player from Chinese Taipei, curiously had a subpar showing in the championship match as he ended up with just 12 markers, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal.
This was the Philippines’ seventh Jones Cup championship overall and first since 2019, when head coach Tiu led Mighty Sports-Philippines to a perfect campaign in the annual tournament.
Robert Hinton led the way for Chinese Taipei-A with 16 points, Ying Chun Chen added 13 markers, while Gilbeck and Hsiang Chun Tseng ended with 11 and 10 points, respectively. They finished runner up with 7-1 record./PN
BOX SCORE:
SGA-PILIPINAS 83 – Agee 21, Fenner 15, Abarrientos 14, McCullough 12, Ravena 9, Abando 6, Heading 4, Kouame 2, Tiongson 0.
CHINESE TAIPEI-A 79 – R. Hinton 16, Chen 13, Gilbeck 11, Tseng 10, Liu 8, A. Hinton 8, Ma 6, Su 5, Gao 2.
Quarterscores: 16-12, 41-34, 55-50, 73-73, 83-79.
