Strong Group Athletics-Philippines’ Tajuan Agee during the 44th William Jones Cup. –SGA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Strong Group Athletics-Philippines rolled to its fifth straight win in the 44th William Jones Cup, dominating Chinese Taipei-White, 107-75, Thursday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium.
Tajuan Agee rebounded from a quiet outing with a blistering first half, finishing with 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block—all in just under 16 minutes before sitting out the second half.
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“Played great today. Guys were locked in from the start,” said head coach Charles Tiu after the game. “Tajuan Agee was great and dominated them from the start. Best offensive basketball for us.”
Strong Group raced to a 39-24 start, then widened the gap with a 22-9 run to close the half. Agee scored 11 during that stretch to push the lead to 61-33.
After shooting just 22.6 percent from deep in their first four games, the Filipinos finally found their stroke, knocking down 14-of-31 triples for a 45.2 percent clip.
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Ian Miller added 13 points, Javi Gomez de Liaño tallied 12 and 11 rebounds, and Kiefer Ravena finished with 11 points and six assists. Rhenz Abando and Dave Ildefonso added 10 each, while Geo Chiu went a perfect 4-for-4 for eight points and five boards.
Strong Group controlled the boards, 52-39, and shared the ball well with 27 assists to Chinese Taipei’s 15.
“We are getting better every game. 27 assists and finally double-digit three-pointers made. It was a satisfying performance,” Tiu said.
“Hopefully, we can build on this momentum.
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Now at 5-0, the Filipinos face Malaysia on Friday before a key matchup against undefeated Bahrain (6-0).
