Strong Group Athletics is set to miss the semifinals of the 45th William Jones Cup despite matching Wonju DB Promy’s 4-1 record, becoming the biggest casualty of the tournament’s controversial new format.
The defending two-time champion was placed in the more competitive group alongside Promy and Chinese Taipei Blue, with only one team from the group advancing to the Final Four.
Promy holds the tiebreaker advantage with a +5 quotient, leaving Strong Group eliminated despite having the same record.
Chinese Taipei Blue, meanwhile, enters the final day of the group stage at 1-4.
The other group features Chinese Taipei White, UC Irvine, Jordan, and Malaysia, with two teams advancing to the semifinals.
The disparity between the two groups has also drawn criticism from fans, prompting the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association to apologize and vow to review the format and scheduling for next year.
The CTBA introduced a double round-robin group stage this year, with the changes aimed primarily at reducing the number of consecutive playing days for participating teams.
“This year, the association decided to change the format used in previous editions with the goal of reducing the number of consecutive playing days for teams,” the CTBA said.
Additional rest days were introduced to give teams more time to recover and make adjustments while reducing the risk of injuries associated with playing on consecutive days.
The association also included a provision guaranteeing Chinese Taipei Blue a place in the semifinals, ensuring that fans would still have the opportunity to watch the national team compete in the Final Four.
That provision, however, has added to the scrutiny surrounding the format with Chinese Taipei Blue sitting at 1-4 heading into the final day, while Strong Group is left out of the semifinals despite its 4-1 mark.
Strong Group entered the tournament as the defending champion after winning the previous two editions of the Jones Cup and was seeking a third straight title.
The CTBA acknowledged that the tournament could have been arranged better to allow all participating teams to compete against one another.
“The association humbly accepts the feedback and criticism from all parties and will review and improve the tournament format and scheduling for next year,” it said.
The CTBA added that it would prioritize inviting this year’s participating teams to future editions in an effort to preserve the long-standing history of the Jones Cup.
The tournament continues Thursday with four games before the classification matches and semifinals begin Friday.
