Strong Group sees self as 'People's Champ' in controversial Jones Cup

MANILA, Philippines -- They may not have hoisted up the Jones Cup championship trophy for the third straight year, but Strong Group Athletics (SGA) sees the support of the people as the “real three-peat”. 

A controversial tournament format prevented the Philippine-based squad from making the semifinal despite having a 5-1 win-loss record at the end of the group phase. 

Hosts Chinese Taipei - Blue, on the other hand, crashed into the semifinal round despite finishing with a 1-5 win-loss record, good for last place in Group A play. 

SGA finished fifth overall in the tournament after defeating Jordan, 96-91, Friday evening. 

“We may not have won the three-peat due to ‘circumstances’ we did not foresee, but the outpouring of support we received from both the Filipino and Taiwanese fans was more than enough for us. In the eyes of many, this team are the real champions, and that means a lot to us,” Strong Group president Jacob Lao said. 

“Maraming salamat to everyone who stood by Strong Group throughout the past three years. Now, it’s time for us to reassess our program, learn from this experience, and make it stronger moving forward.”

SGA trailed by seven points, 56-63, in the third quarter before running amuck the rest of the way. 

A deuce by Titing Manalili pushed the lead to nine, 94-85, with 1:41 left. 

Boban Marjanovic finished with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, along with eight rebounds, for SGA. Tajuan Agee added 17 points and four rebounds, while Matthew Wright and Ian Miller chipped in 15 points apiece. DJ Fenner contributed 11 points.

Hadi Alhami paced Jordan with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Abdullah Olajuwon, the son of NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon, added 18 points.

The Philippines missed out on a semifinal berth after absorbing a 110-79 defeat at the hands of Wonju DB Promy in their first round meeting. 

And when the two teams faced off again, the Korean squad was trounced, 113-87. 

With Promy finishing with a similar 5-1 slate at the end of the group phase, they barged into the semifinal round as the top seed due to quotient. 

The semifinal round is on Saturday, with Taipei - Blue facing off against the UC Irvine Anteaters. Promy, on the other hand, will take on Taipei - White in the other pairing.