Strong Group-Pilipinas begins its three-peat bid on Friday when it faces Wonju DB Promy in the 45th William Jones Cup at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.

Tip-off is at 1 p.m. (Manila time) with Strong Group looking to make a strong start in the prestigious annual tournament named after former International Basketball Federation secretary general William Jones.

Unlike previous editions that used a single-round robin format, this year’s Jones Cup will feature a group stage, with the eight teams divided into two groups and playing a double-round robin.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage, where the surviving squad will be crowned champion.

Strong Group and Wonju DB Promy, which plays at the Korean Basketball League, are in Group A together with Chinese Taipei Blue and Japan, while Group B features Jordan, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei White and the University of California, Irvine.

Even with 7-foot-4 former National Basketball Association campaigner Boban Marjanovic anchoring the paint, head coach Charles Tiu knows this year’s competition will be much tougher as several teams are determined to dethrone the two-time defending champions.

“I think this year, the tournament is much tougher. There’s a Korean team also. You’ve got the Jordan national team, UC Irvine, the college team with the 7-foot-9 dude. So, an interesting pool of teams now,” said Tiu, who has won four Jones Cup titles with Strong Group and Mighty Sports as they left for Taiwan last Thursday.

“Tougher but still exciting. We should be up for the task and hopefully we can compete and represent the country.”

Tiu, who also calls the shots for Phoenix Super LPG in the Philippine Basketball Association and College of Saint Benilde in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, said his players are hungry to defend their crown.

“The guys are competitors. I like what I’m seeing in practice so far and nobody wants to lose,” Tiu said.

“Obviously, this is a challenge to let everybody play, but we’ve also got some guys that know their roles on the team, which I think is good. I think everybody will have enough opportunities to perform.”

Backing Marjanovic is Strong Group’s championship core of Dave Ildefonso, DJ Fenner and Tajuan Agee.

Also making their debuts for the squad are Puerto Rican forward Isaiah Piñeiro, Remy Martin, Matthew Wright, William Navarro, Shaun Ildefonso, Titing Manalili and Malick Diouf, who replaced Ange Kouamé.

Marjanovic, meanwhile, is bringing his NBA experience to a Strong Group squad that is chasing a historic three-peat, but the Serbian big man is ready to do whatever is asked of him.

“What coach has on his mind, we’re supposed to get done. Sometimes it’s really not easy, but we are a team and we’re supposed to handle this together,” said Marjanovic, who played for the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks.

“Nothing is easy in this sport. Nothing is easy to win, nothing is easy to prepare, nothing is easy to go every night and play the best you can.”