Jones Cup organizers apologize as SGA falls victim to new format

Strong Group-Pilipinas after a game in the 2026 Williams Jones Cup in Taiwan. –SGA PHOTO

From one of the most prestigious tournaments in the region, this year’s edition of the William Jones Cup has left a bad taste in the mouth when a new format benefited the home team with a direct slot to the semifinals despite having one of the worst records in the tournament.

The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CBTA) is reeling from social media backlash, effectively forced to admit before issuing a public apology for the new format on Thursday as Chinese Taipei-Blue suffered a 43-point mangling from Strong Group-Philippines.

The Philippine representatives will be missing post-classification round play despite finishing with a 5-1 card, while the Taiwanese national team, even with a 1-5 record, has advanced

“SGA, the two-time champion from the Philippines that was placed in the same group as Chinese Taipei Blue, may have been the biggest victim of this year’s new format,” the statement said.

“The association humbly accepts the [negative] feedback and criticism from all parties, and we will review and improve the tournament format and scheduling for next year.”

The Philippines has a rich history in the tournament with several of its national teams winning. Squads coached by Ron Jacobs, Tim Cone and later on Chot Reyes ruled the tournament that, back in the day, was invaded by formidable US selections and several national teams like Iran and South Korea.

Incidentally, with SGA-PH missing the semis, the squad missed the chance to complete a ‘three-peat’ and duplicate what only the Iranians, led by Hamed Haddadi, pulled off from 2009.

Originally, the top two teams in both groups were given the tickets to the next phase, before an announcement was made that, as hosts, the Taiwanese were seeded into the crossover Final Four.

Coach Charles Tiu said blowing out Taipei was the mission.

“We wanted to really blow out Taipei to show that we were the ones who deserved to be playing for the championship,” Tiu said. “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.”

SGA-PH wound up tied with KBL team Wonju DB, which owned the better quotient over SGA at +6 because of their two meetings that the two teams split.

In the other group, UC Irvine and Chinese Taipei White advanced to the semifinals.