Jones Cup: Strong Group blasts Australia for fourth straight win

MANILA, Philippines -- Reigning champion Strong Group Philippines drubbed Australia United, 91-75, and stayed perfect in the 2025 William Jones Cup Wednesday at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Taiwan.

The Philippine representative sprinted to a 24-13 start and never looked back en route to a dominating 16-point win, its fourth straight in as many games.

Former NBA standout Andre Roberson collared 16 points and 12 rebounds, laced by six assists and a steal in only 19 minutes of play to spearhead the wards of coach Charles Tiu.

Fellow imports Tajuan Steven Agee and Ian Bennett Miller added 11 points each, while Dave Ildefonso chipped in 10 for the local bets looking for another tournament sweep.

Kiefer Ravena also made his presence felt after missing the first three games due to prior commitments in Europe and had nine points in his debut.

Javi Gomez De Liaño and DJ Fenner contributed eight and six, respectively.

Strong Group, which also beat host Chinese Taipei Blue, 67-56, and Japan U25, 79-67, has the Chinese Taipei White next at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

The local bets will wrap up their campaign against Malaysia, fellow unbeaten Bahrain and United Arab Emirates.

Mac Stodart (19) and Filipino ace James Spencer (11), who played for UP in the UAAP, led the Australian club that slid to 2-3 in the nine-team tournament.