Strong Group-Philippines head coach Charles Tiu commended Monday the local core in their 67-56 victory over host Chinese Taipei Blue in the opener of the 44th William Jones Cup campaign Sunday night at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium.
From a 28-35 halftime deficit, the Filipinos held a 21-4 run to take a 50-39 advantage entering the fourth quarter. They kept the momentum and never looked back.
Andre Roberson, a former Oklahoma City Thunder standout, anchored the third-quarter rally.
Tajuan Agee, Jason Brickman, Rhenz Abando and DJ Fenner, Dave Ildefonso and Ian Miller also delivered.
“This is why we built a team like this,” Tiu said. “A team that is defensive-oriented —with Dre Rob and Agee leading the way. But also give credit to our locals: Dave, DJ, Rhenz, and Jason. They locked in defensively after we made some key adjustments.”
Roberson finished with 17 points, 19 rebounds (including nine offensive), and five steals.
Miller added 16 points while Abando had 11 points, three assists, two rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.
Tiu said the win also avenged the loss of Gilas Pilipinas to the Chinese Taipei national team at the nearby Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium earlier this year.
“We prepared for them. We wanted to get back at them for beating Gilas. That stuck with us,” he said.
Despite the emotional high, Tiu acknowledged that the Strong Group-Philippines still has work to do.
“Our offense is a work in progress. We’ll figure it out as we play more together. But defense is what we’ve been focusing on —and we’ve scouted them for a while now,” he said.
Strong Group returns to action Monday at 5 p.m. against Japan’s developmental team. (PNA)
