With star playmaker Kiefer Ravena still not around, Strong Group Athletics (SGA) knows that it has to keep its defensive screws tight if it wants to defend its title in the 44th William Jones Cup.

SGA coach Charles Tiu admitted that they are struggling to execute with Ravena still not around. In fact, in their 79-67 win over the Japan Developmental Team last Monday, their primary ball handlers in Jason Brickman and import Ian Miller suffered intense defensive pressure from start to finish.

“Ugly game for us. The guys were beat up from yesterday’s match — we were really spent. Japan put a lot of pressure on us, and it was tough with just Jason (Brickman) and Ian (Miller) as our primary ball handlers,” said Tiu, heaving a sigh of relief as their defensive muscles kept them afloat en route to the hard-earned victory.

“Our offense still isn’t too fluid, but again, credit to the guys for their defense.”

Ravena, who has vast international experience with Gilas Pilipinas, remains out as he is still attending to a prior commitment with the Jordan Brand in Athens.

He remains out for the Filipino club that is battling Qatar at press time.

After tackling the Qataris, SGA will go up against former University of the Philippines standout James Spencer’s Australia on Wednesday, Chinese Taipei-B on Thursday, Malaysia on Friday, Bahrain on Saturday, and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.

“Kiefer will be out for one more day, so we just have to weather the storm,” Tiu added.

With Ravena out, former Oklahoma City Thunder forward Andre Roberson took the offensive cudgels with 15 points and 14 rebounds while terrorizing the paint with five blocks to set the tone for their nail-biting victory over the younger, more aggressive Japanese.

DJ Fenner added 14 points and eight rebounds to underscore another strong performance while Javi Gomez de Liaño provided steady offense, finishing with 13 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting clip.

Rhenz Abando tallied an all-around performance with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block, while Tajuan Agee chipped in 10 points before exiting the game due to injury.

“Agee got hurt and might miss a few games, so we’ll be short a man,” Tiu said.

“Hopefully, (Ange) Kouame will be ready for tomorrow’s game.”