Romwel Anzures

2025 William Jones Cup champions Strong Group-Philippines. Photo handout.

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<div style="line-height:1"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1753509902117IMG_7777.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="2025 William Jones Cup champions Strong Group-Philippines. Photo handout.2025 William Jones Cup champions Strong Group-Philippines. Photo handout."/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">2025 William Jones Cup champions Strong Group-Philippines. <em>Photo handout.</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Strong Group Athletics-Philippines has successfully clinched the William Jones Cup championship for the second straight year.</p><p>The Charles Tiu-mentored team swept their eight assignments in New Taipei to make history as the only PH-based team to rule the Jones Cup for two straight editions.</p><p>Headed by the likes of Kiefer Ravena, Andre Roberson, Rhenz Abando, Javi Gomez de Liaño, and Ange Kouame, SGA-PH were able to defend their title and also bring the country its eighth overall title from the said tournament.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/7/20/strong-group-ph-completes-jones-cup-sweep-for-2nd-straight-year-1745">READ: Strong Group-PH completes Jones Cup sweep for 2nd straight year</a></div><p>But aside from the prowess that his roster possesses, Tiu emphasized that their glory was mainly built on the character that his players have.</p><p>&quot;I wanted to focus on chemistry and a good group of guys,&quot; said the College of Saint Benilde mentor in an appearance on Power and Play on Saturday morning. &quot;I can&#x27;t say enough about their attitude and their willingness to play defense.&quot;</p><p>Strong Group had less than two weeks to come together and prepare for the Jones Cup, and Ravena even had to miss their first few games due to prior commitments, which is why Tiu leaned on parading a roster that had high regard for character. </p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m not gonna try to pretend na maganda yung ginagawa namin. No, we only had eight practices, so we just focused on getting them to buy in and play defense, and take care of the ball,&quot; he said. &quot;We focused on the type of players na magaganda ugali and are very coachable.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Offense, we&#x27;d find ways to score even with our local players, but with the short time to prepare, it&#x27;s hard to put any offensive system to really look like a team that is jelling to execute well.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Minsan nga ako, parang: &#x27;What are we doing there on offense?&#x27; As a coach, yung pride ko, parang: &#x27;Ang pangit, wala tayong ginagawa.&#x27; But then again, you have to understand the situation,&quot; he added.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/7/21/after-jones-cup-glory-strong-group-reaffirms-commitment-to-elevate-ph-hoops-1909">READ: After Jones Cup glory, Strong Group reaffirms commitment to elevate PH hoops</a></div><p>This decision obviously bore fruit as they successfully moved past Australia, Bahrain, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Taipei Blue, Taipei White, and the United Arab Emirates in eight straight days to bring honor to the country.</p><p>They defeated all eight squads with an average margin of 19.38 points, and these wins also extended their undefeated streak which dates back from the 2024 edition to 16. </p><div><br/></div><div style="line-height:1"><strong>RELATED VIDEO: <span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LUJ829MiXQI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong></div>

<p>Strong Group Athletics-Philippines has successfully clinched the William Jones Cup championship for the second straight year.</p>

Strong Group Athletics-Philippines has successfully clinched the William Jones Cup championship for the second straight year.

Chemistry, character were keys in SGA’s latest Jones Cup title, says Charles Tiu

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Chemistry, character were keys in SGA’s latest Jones Cup title, says Charles Tiu

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 26, 2025 02:30 PM PHT

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