Strong Group-Pilipinas zooms past Japan for third straight win

MANILA, August 19 ------ Strong Group-Pilipinas zoomed past Japan, 107-86, for its third straight win in the 2026 William Jones Cup.

Isaiah Pineiro led SGA with 25 points and five rebounds, while Tajuan Agee and Remy Martin followed with 15 and 13 points, respectively, to the delight of head coach Charles Tiu. “Continuing to play better as a team,” said Tiu, as they logged their third straight victory in four outings. “We went up by as much as 30 and are starting to get in shape for Promy. Now we have to find a way to beat them. Pineiro and Agee were great for us today.”

Also stepping up were DJ Fenner and Ian Miller, who both tallied 12 points, Matthew Wright, who finished with 10 points, and Titing Manalili, who had nine points and three assists. Up next for the Philippines is Wonju DB Promy on Wednesday at 3 p.m. On the other hand, Hayato Wakugawa led Japan with 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting, followed by Gakuto Arai, who had 17 points.

The Scores:

Strong Group-Pilipinas 107 — Pineiro 25, Agee 15, Martin 13, Fenner Jr. 12, Miller 12, Wright 10, Manalili 9, Marjanovic 7, Navarro 4, Dave Ildefonso 0, Diouf 0, Shaun Ildefonso 0.

Japan 86 — Wakugawa 26, Arai 17, Ozawa 10, Matsumoto 9, Nakamura 7, Tanaka 5, Buto 5, Hiraiwa 4, Igwe 2, Sakai 1, Hirose 0, Kon 0.

Quarterscores: 28-31, 61-45, 87-60, 107-86.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com