SGA denied Jones Cup 3-peat due to unusual format; Chinese Taipei federation apologizes

DRIVE. Remy Martin in action for Strong Group Athletics against Chinese Taipei Blue in the 2026 William Jones Cup. Strong Group Athletics Facebook page Defending two-time Jones Cup champion Strong Group Athletics fails to advance out of the group stage as it loses its semifinal spot to one of the two home teams, which gets direct entry to the final four despite its inferior record The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association acknowledged flaws in the 2026 William Jones Cup format, which prevented the defending champions, SGA, from advancing despite a strong performance. SGA, with a better record than Chinese Taipei Blue, was eliminated due to the tournament rules, which favored the home team despite their poor performance. The CTBA expressed regret over the format and scheduling, promising improvements for future tournaments, while SGA aims to finish strong against Jordan in the fifth-place game. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. MANILA, Philippines – The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) admitted shortcomings in its staging of the 2026 William Jones Cup, acknowledging Strong Group Athletics as the “biggest victim” of a strange format that has left the Filipino representatives unable to get a crack at a rare three-peat. The defending two-time champion, SGA, failed to advance out of Group B as it lost its semifinal spot to one of the two home teams, Chinese Taipei Blue, which automatically reached the final four regardless of the results. Under normal tournament circumstances, SGA should have joined Korean Basketball League club Wonju DB Promy in the knockout rounds as they topped Group B with identical 5-1 records. However, SGA missed the cut, with Chinese Taipei Blue advancing despite an inferior 1-5 slate. “We apologize for the heated discussions caused by the changes to the competition format. In the future, we will continue to improve the Jones Cup scheduling arrangements to meet fans’ expectations and allow the visiting overseas teams to enjoy the competition,” the CTBA said. “The Philippines’ SGA team, a two-time champion that was placed in the same group as Chinese Taipei Blue, may have been the biggest victim of this year’s new format. Despite having a better record, SGA was unable to advance because of the tournament rules.” SGA missed out on the final four owing to its 110-79 loss to Wonju in its tournament opener on August 14. Although SGA racked up four straight victories, beating Japan twice (78-72 on August 15 and 107-86 on August 18), dealing Chinese Taipei Blue a 97-78 beating on August 16, and exacting a 113-87 revenge on Wonju on August 19, it fell short of the 32-point margin it needed against the Korean team to win the tiebreaker. Wonju held the tiebreaker advantage by 5 points. After Wonju secured its semifinal seat with a 75-64 win over Japan on Thursday, August 20, SGA could only vent its ire on Chinese Taipei Blue in its final group stage game, handing the home squad a 117-74 drubbing. “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,” said SGA head coach Charles Tiu. Puerto Rican import Isaiah Pineiro posted 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Remy Martin and Matthew Wright fired 19 and 18 points, respectively, as SGA coasted to the most lopsided victory of this Jones Cup, but still not enough to send it to the final four. “The association acknowledges that the tournament format and scheduling could have been better designed to ensure that all teams had the opportunity to compete against one another and exchange skills on the court,” said the CTBA. Denied a shot at becoming the first time to win three consecutive Jones Cup titles since Iran ruled from 2009 to 2011, SGA looks to end its campaign in style as it battles Jordan in the fifth-place game on Friday, August 21. Joining Wonju and Chinese Taipei Blue in the semifinals are American college team UC Irvine Anteaters and Chinese Taipei White. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading