Strong Group deals Chinese Taipei-White 32-point beating for 5th straight Jones Cup win

MANILA, Philippines, July 18 ------ Strong Group Athletics import Tajuan Agee got it going early and the rest followed suit as the Philippine-based squad kept its record unblemished in the 2025 William Jones Cup with a 107-75 rout of Chinese Taipei-White.

The 6-foot-9 Agee fired all of his 25 points in the opening half on an ultra-efficient 10-of-12 shooting as the Philippines entered the halftime break with a massive 61-33 lead and never looked back the rest of the way against the hosts at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Taiwan. “Played great today. Guys were locked in from the start,” said Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu. “Tajuan Agee was great and dominated them from the start. Best offensive basketball for us,” Tiu added as Strong Group breached the 100-point mark for the first time this tournament. he added.

Aside from Agee, five more players scored in twin-digits for the Philippines as Ian Miller and Javi Gomez de Liaño scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Kiefer Ravena contributed 11 markers. Dave Ildefonso and Rhenz Abando, meanwhile, poured in 10 points each in the lopsided win that saw the Filipinos tally 27 assists and connect on 14 of their 31 three-point attempts. “We are getting better every game,” said Tiu. “27 assists and finally double-digit three-pointers made. It was a satisfying performance.” he added.

After doing heavy lifting in Strong Group’s first four games, star import Andre Roberson finally got much-needed rest as he only suited up for 6 minutes and 53 seconds, tallying 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Strong Group hiked its record to 5-0, keeping in step with fellow undefeated Bahrain (6-0) with only three games left in its grueling eight-day, eight-game campaign. The Filipinos take on Malaysia (2-2) on Friday, July 18, before the all-important showdown versus Bahrain on Saturday, July 19, which will likely decide the winner of the tournament.

Source: rappler.com