Strong Group Athletics-Pilipinas head coach Charles Tiu could only shake his head in dismay, not because his team lost, but because it didn’t reach the winning margin it needed to boost its chances of advancing to the semifinals of the 45th William Jones Cup.

A controversial tournament format, compounded by a disastrous start, has put SGA-Pilipinas’ three-peat bid in a precarious position.

SGA-Pilipinas blew out Wonju DB Promy of South Korea, 113-87, last Wednesday, tying the two teams on top of Group A with identical 4-1 win-loss slates.

However, SGA-Pilipinas’ 26-point winning margin wasn’t enough for the squad to secure a superior quotient over Wonju DB Promy, which would have given the Philippines the last semis seat, in case of a tie, in the No. 1 spot at the end of the group stage.

Instead, SGA-Pilipinas will be sent packing if the Korean club prevails over the also-ran Japanese team in their final match, even if the Philippines beat semis-bound Republic of China Blue in their game, as of press time.

“This one really hurts. It’s rare to win a game and still feel disappointed. We were so close. We prepared well and really gave ourselves a chance to win, but the 32-point margin was just too much for us to overcome,” Tiu said as his team is behind by five points in the quotient system.

SGA-Pilipinas, which won four straight, needed to win by 32 or more after getting clobbered by Wonju DB Promy, 79-110, last Friday in the first round. SGA-Pilipinas was six points short.

“I can’t sing enough praises for our team and the way we fought in this game. We played some really good basketball," he added.

Under the new format, the eight participating teams were divided into two groups with the top two teams after the double-round robin eliminations advancing to the Final Four.

However, as host, Chinese Taipei’s Blue team has been seeded into the semis outright regardless of its 1-4 standings, leaving the other squads fighting for the remaining berth.

Republic of China Blue will face University of California Irvine, which swept all six games in Group B, in the Final Four on Saturday.

“Even the Korean coach (Lee Kyu-seop) was complaining about how bad the format of the tournament is. If only we knew from the start that this was the format, then for sure things would have been different,” Tiu said.

Amid the criticisms, especially from fans, the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association apologized and vowed to review the format and scheduling for next year.

“This year, the association decided to change the format used in previous editions with the goal of reducing the number of consecutive playing days for teams,” the CTBA said.

The federation said it would prioritize inviting this year’s participating teams to future editions in an effort to preserve the long-standing history of the Jones Cup.

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

Classification round games will be played Friday.