Strong Group Athletics-Pilipinas took its frustration out on Chinese Taipei Blue, pulling off a ruthless 117-74 victory Thursday at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium to close its campaign in the group phase of the 45th William Jones Cup.

But the emphatic win came with a bitter aftertaste.

Despite finishing with a 5-1 win-loss record, tied with Korean Basketball League squad Wonju DB for the best mark in Group A, Strong Group was left out of the semifinals under the tournament’s format.

The Filipinos, who also finished with the best point differential in the pool at +14.0, were denied a shot at the championship after Chinese Taipei Blue was already assured of a semifinal berth by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association.

Wonju, meanwhile, claimed the other slot after posting a better quotient of +6 in its two-game head-to-head series with Strong Group, which the teams split.

Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu made no secret of his team’s motivation against the host squad.

“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.”

Isaiah Piñeiro powered the Filipinos with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while former National Basketball Association giant Boban Marjanović added 12 points and six rebounds.

Homegrown talents also stepped up, with Titing Manalili flirting with a double-double after collecting 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

DJ Fenner chipped in 10 points and four rebounds as Strong Group turned what was supposed to be a competitive showdown into a one-sided affair.

Strong Group will now settle for a fifth-place game against Jordan on Friday, while the semifinals proceed without the Philippine side despite its impressive showing in the group stage.