Strong Group survives Chinese Taipei-A in OT, claims Philippines’ seventh Jones Cup crown

Strong Group-Pilipinas were unstoppable all-tournament long, staying unscathed in eight games to lift the Jones Cup trophy.

Photo (c) SGA

Chris McCullough picked the wrong time to have an off night.

Fortunately for Strong Group-Pilipinas, returning Tajuan Agee stepped up and lifted the team to a thrilling 83-79 win over Chinese Taipei-A in overtime to secure the title in the 43rd William Jones Cup on Sunday, July 21.

The SGA thus kept its flawless record in eight games while halting fellow erstwhile unbeaten Chinese Taipei-A in the most important battle to give the Philippines its seventh crown overall in the tournament.

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Agee, back in action after missing their last two matches because of food poisoning, showed the way for SGA with 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists before fouling out with 14.4 ticks remaining in extra time.

McCullough shot 4-for-13 from the field for a relatively measly 12 markers. But while that put a blot on an otherwise stellar campaign, the former San Miguel import was still adjudged Most Valuable Player.

Derrick Fenner and RJ Abarrientos fired 14 points apiece for SGA.\

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Kiefer Ravena had nine points, none bigger than the booming right corner triple that gave the team a 73-71 lead with still 13.2 ticks remaining in regulation.

But the home team did not want to let down the raucous partisan crowd at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City in Taiwan. At least, not yet.

After Chen Yingjun botched a left-handed layup, Gil Baker came to the rescue and scored on a putback that sent the game into overtime.

It was a nip-and-tuck battle in the extra period of the match that was decided only in the final seconds.

SGA struggled to put away the home team, with Ma Jianhao’s split from the charity stripe pulling Chinese Taipei to within one, 79-80 with still 14.4 to go.

That was when Jordan Heading and Fenner made the biggest plays, with the former sinking two crucial free throws.

Fenner also canned one freebie with 6.9 to go, before intercepting an inbound pass in the final play that led to the victory.

Robert Hinton paced Chinese Taipei with 16 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the three-point line.

Yingjun had 13 points, while Baker had 11 markers, nine rebounds, and five blocks.