Strong Group-PH routs Chinese Taipei, but Jones Cup title bid ends

Strong Group-Pilipinas’ Isaiah Piñeiro during a game in the 2026 Williams Jones Cup. –SGA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Strong Group-Pilipinas crushed Chinese Taipei-Blue, 117-74, on Thursday to end the group phase of the 2026 William Jones Cup on a five-game winning streak.

Despite its 5-1 record, good for second place in the group, the Philippine-based team won’t advance to the next phase of the tournament, ending its bid for a three-peat.

Wonju DB, which beat Strong Group-Pilipinas in the opener, advances to the semifinals from Group A along with host side Chinese Taipei-Blue, which gained direct entry despite its 1-5 record as part of the tournament’s new format.

In the other group, UC Irvine and Chinese Taipei White advanced to the semifinals.

The Filipino squad, meanwhile, will battle Jordan for fifth place on Friday.

“We wanted to really blow out Taipei to show that we were the ones who deserved to be playing for the championship. We’ve really hit our stride and are playing at a high level right now. It’s just so, so unfortunate that this is the way things are set up,” added Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu.

“We want to continue to represent the Philippines and our community here with pride, so we will finish strong,” said Tiu.

Isaiah Piñeiro paced Strong Group-Pilipinas against the Taiwanese with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, while Filipino-American guard Remy Martin had 19 points.

Matthew Wright had 18 points, Titing Manalili added 13 points, eight assists, and six rebounds, while NBA veteran Boban Marjanović had 12 points and six rebounds.