The William Jones Cup is back in the Philippines after five long years.
Strong Group-Pilipinas overcame a hostile environment and unfavorable calls, escaping Chinese-Taipei with an 83-79 win to complete a sweep of the 2024 edition of the tournament on Sunday evening at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
This is the seventh time the Philippines has won the mid-year tournament.
Previous victories include 1982 with Northern Cement, 1985 with San Miguel, 1998 with the Centennial Team, 2012 with Gilas, and 2016 and 2019 with Mighty Sports.
Strong Group had won its first seven games with an average margin 21.57 points per game. However, on Sunday night, it had to earn its way to Jones Cup glory.
Tied at 78-all in overtime, Strong Group went ahead after a goaltending call on Chinese-Taipei’s naturalized big man Brandon Gilbeck on a Chris McCullough attempt.
McCullough fouled out of the game seconds later after committing a charge against Robert Hinton.
Strong Group then got one back after DJ Fenner drew an offensive foul against Robert’s brother, Adam Hinton.
A nip-and-tuck affair ensued, with neither team relenting.
With 14.4 seconds left, Tajuan Agee was assessed his fifth foul after a steal attempt against Liu Cheng. Liu split his free throws.
Jordan Heading, who played for Taichung in T1 a couple of years back, knocked down two clutch free throws to give the Philippine-based club a three-point edge with 12.2 seconds remaining.
DJ Fenner then forced a turnover, splitting his free throws to ice the championship.
Agee led Strong Group with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Fenner added 15 points and nine rebounds as well.
RJ Abarrientos fired three triples for 14 points.
McCullough saw himself limited to just 12 points and five rebounds against Chinese-Taipei.
Despite that performance, he took MVP honors after averaging 21.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks during the nine-day meet.
Strong Group battled back from six down in the final frame with Kiefer Ravena delivering the heroics.
Facing a 70-71 deficit with 13 seconds left, Ravena knocked down a corner three to give Strong Group the lead.
However, it was negated by Chen Yingchun, who scored on a drive.
Ravena missed a last-second attempt, sending the game into overtime.
Robert Hinton paced Chinese-Taipei with 16 points, while Gilbeck tallied a double-double of 11 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks.
The Scores:
Strong Group 83– Agee 21, Fenner 15, Abarrientos 14, McCullough 12, Ravena 9, Abando 6, Heading 4, Kouame 2, Tiongson 0.
Chinese-Taipei 79 – Hinton R. 16, Chen 13, Gilbeck 11, Tseng 10, Hinton A. 8, Liu 8, Ma 6, Su 5, Jin 2, Han 0.
Quarterscores: 16-12, 41-34, 48-50, 73-73, 83-79.
