Strong Group Athletics leaned on its championship poise to overcome a gritty challenge from Malaysia, 106–98, extending its unbeaten run to six games in the 44th William Jones Cup on Friday afternoon at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
“It was not the best game for us defensively, but we got the job done and got the win,” said SGA head coach Charles Tiu. “We also got to rest Dre [Andre Roberson] and Tajuan [Agee], which is crucial. Now, all focus for us is our game tomorrow against Bahrain, which is our championship game.”
SGA had to dig deep to survive Malaysia’s spirited 34–19 fourth-quarter rally and a 50-point explosion from Steven Green.
With the victory, Strong Group improved to 6–0, setting the stage for a potential gold-medal clash against fellow unbeaten Bahrain (6–0) tomorrow at 3:00 PM.
Before that can happen, Bahrain must first pass a major test against last year’s runner-up Chinese Taipei A, at 7:00 PM — a game that SGA will be closely watching.
“Regardless of the result against Chinese Taipei for them, it’s a must-win for us,” Tiu stressed. “They’ve got two imports and a EuroLeague coach (Georgios Vovoras), so they’re well-coached and have looked solid — that’s why they’ve been undefeated so far.”
Malaysia gave Strong Group all it could handle in the third quarter, narrowing the gap to 56–49 after a stepback jumper by Green.
But the trio of Kiefer Ravena, Geo Chiu, and DJ Fenner took over, sparking a 31–17 run that ballooned the lead to 87–64 entering the final period.
The Malaysians, however, refused to go away quietly. Green powered a 20–10 spurt to trim the deficit to 97–84 with under five minutes remaining.
Fortunately for Strong Group, Allen Liwag stepped up in the clutch. The College of Saint Benilde standout delivered key buckets to restore order and push the lead back to 101–86.
Liwag then capped his strong showing with a dagger triple in the final 20 seconds, putting the finishing touches on SGA’s sixth win in as many games.
Fenner delivered his best performance of the tournament with 20 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting clip, along with eight rebounds and four assists.
Ravena, who earned his first start of the campaign, chipped in 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting with three boards.
With Roberson and Agee taking a well-deserved rest, Liwag shined with 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Dave Ildefonso provided 13 points — 11 of which came in the first half — while Geo Chiu tallied a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds along with two blocks.
Ange Kouame rounded out the six SGA players in double figures with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists.
Malaysia dropped to 2–4, tied with Japan for sixth place.
Green’s 50-point outburst on 17-of-38 shooting was the highlight for Malaysia. He also grabbed eight rebounds and made two steals. Chun Hong Ting added 24 points, seven rebounds, six assists, a steal, and a block.
Malaysia wraps up its tournament tomorrow at 1:00 PM against Australia, which features former UP standout James Spencer.
