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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider SGA goes two in a row at expense of Taipei Blue, eyes repeat vs Japan

SGA goes two in a row at expense of Taipei Blue, eyes repeat vs Japan

Published Aug 17, 2026 01:38 pm

At A Glance

  • Three-peat-seeking Strong Group Athletics flashed its championship form and dismantled Chinese Taipei Blue, 97-78, to go two in a row in the 2026 William Jones Cup at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City Sunday, Aug. 16.
Isaiah Piñeiro shines for SGA. (SGA)
Isaiah Piñeiro shines for SGA. (SGA)
Three-peat-seeking Strong Group Athletics flashed its championship form and dismantled Chinese Taipei Blue, 97-78, to go two in a row in the 2026 William Jones Cup at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City Sunday, Aug. 16.
Following their breakthrough 78-72 triumph over Japan, the SGA cagers came out with another inspired performance by seizing a commanding 50-38 advantage in the first half before breaking the game wide open with a 77-60 lead to completely take the fight out of the hometown bets.
The victory marked the second win for SGA after stumbling in the opener to carry a 2-1 slate heading into the second round. The Charles Tiu-mentored crew eyes repeat against Japan (0-3) this Tuesday, Aug. 18, at the same venue.
Taipei Blue, for its part, dropped to 1-2 and eyes a bounce back victory over Group A leader South Korea (3-0).
Tiu expressed his delight after seeing his wards leveling up their game but wants them to sharpen their defense on the court.
“Great team win for us. We’re slowly coming together. Remy played great, and Boban stepped up. It’s nice to see us playing this way. We’ll slowly get better game by game,” said coach Tiu.
“We definitely need to defend the three-point line better. That will be key. But it will be about us and building our chemistry,” he added.
Puerto Rican import Isaiah Piñeiro shone in his third game for SGA after collecting 19 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal, while Tajuan Agee also scored 19 on top of three rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block.
Serbia’s gentle giant Boban Marjanovic played his best game for the Philippine-based club with 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and one block. Remy Martin and William Navarro chipped in 13 and seven points, respectively.
Chun-Yen Kuo rallied Taipei Blue with 14 points, while Kuie-Yu Chou and Jonah Morrison contributed 12 points apiece in a losing cause.

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