ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Jones Cup organizers issue public apology, especially to 'biggest victim' SGA

Jones Cup organizers issue public apology, especially to 'biggest victim' SGA

Published Aug 20, 2026 03:02 pm

At A Glance

  • The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA), organizer of the ongoing 2026 William Jones Cup, has issued a public apology following the sudden change of format that jeopardized the three-peat bid of Strong Group Athletics.
Charles Tiu (SGA)
Charles Tiu (SGA)
The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA), organizer of the ongoing 2026 William Jones Cup, has issued a public apology following the sudden change of format that jeopardized the three-peat bid of Strong Group Athletics.
CTBA disclosed in its statement that the body ratified the running format of Jones Cup to give way to Chinese Taipei Blue, which, according to the organizers, was depleted as most of its key players were injured and those who joined in were young and inexperienced.
Despite having a 1-4 card at the bottom of Group A, Taipei Blue is still assured of entering the semis as a leeway being the tournament's host.
This puts SGA, which flaunts a 4-1 win-loss record, in a precarious situation after it failed to fulfill the 32-point lead required in its victory against South Korea, which is represented by Wonju DB Promy.
The Ethan Alvano-powered Korea handed SGA a 110-79 defeat in the opener.
South Korea still holds the No. 1 spot which guarantees them the other semis ticket.
Group B, meanwhile, offers two spots for the top finishers in group play.
"The 45th William Jones Cup Basketball Invitation Tournament Group Stage is nearing its end. Due to the impact of player injuries on the Chinese Blue team, their performance has not been as expected, sparking discussions among fans and the public about the tournament format,” CTBA wrote.
“The association has apologized to all parties for the changes in the tournament schedule and will continue to improve the Jones Cup tournament schedule to meet the fans' expectations and allow visiting foreign teams to enjoy the matches,” it added.
CTBA disclosed as well that its newly-imposed format in the competition can give the Chinese fans an opportunity to see their hometown bets vie in the semis
Also, the organizers announced that it also changed the schedules to give each team ample time to rest.
They also called SGA as the “biggest victim” of the new format, but heaped their praises on the great run by the Charles Tiu-mentored crew.
“The two-time champion Philippine SGA team from the same group as the Chinese Blue team may be the biggest victim of the new competition format this year. Although they had a better record, they were unable to advance due to the competition format,” it continued.
“The association greatly appreciates the excellent skills demonstrated by SGA in this year's matches and is grateful. In the future, the association will continue to prioritize inviting the participating teams to help extend the long history of the Jones Cup basketball tournament,” it added.
SGA, despite having a slim hope of advancing to the semis, battles Taipei Blue this Thursday, Aug. 20. A victory wouldn't assure the Philippine-based squad a Final Four berth if Japan loses its game against South Korea.

Related Tags

CTBA Jones Cup SGA Charles TIu
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.