By Jean Malanum
MANILA – Strong Group-Philippines clobbered Chinese Taipei-White, 107-75, Thursday night to remain unbeaten after five games in the 44th William Jones Cup at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
Tajuan Agee scored 25 points, including 11 in a 22-9 run that gave the Filipinos a 61-33 advantage at halftime. The 27-year-old forward also had six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.
“Played great today. Guys were locked in from the start. Tajuan Agee was great and dominated them from the start. Best offensive basketball for us,” head coach Charles Tiu commented after the game.
“We are getting better every game, 27 assists, and finally double-digit three-pointers made. It was a satisfying performance.”
After struggling from long range in their first four games (22.6 percent clip), the Filipinos finally found their rhythm, draining 14-of-31 attempts from beyond the arc for a 45.2 percent shooting rate.
BCAL-East MVP Ian Miller contributed 13 points and three rebounds, while Javi Gomez De Liaño added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Kiefer Ravena had 11 points and six assists, Rhenz Abando and Dave Ildefonso chipped in 10 points each while Geo Chiu, who had five rebounds, scored eight points on a 4-of-4 clip.
Strong Group will face Malaysia before meeting unbeaten Bahrain (6-0).
“Today was our best offensive showing yet. Hopefully, we can build on this momentum heading into the final stretch,” said Tiu. (PNA)
