Strong Group Athletics (SGA)-Pilipinas will be assessing its next move after falling short of its three-peat campaign in the controversial 45th edition of the William Jones Cup.

Head coach Charles Tiu said the team has no plans yet for where it will play next or whether the squad will return next year for a redemption run.

“No plans yet for future tournaments, but we shall see,” Tiu said.

SGA-Pilipinas finished fifth after beating Jordan’s national team, 96-91, on Friday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.

The squad wrapped its campaign with six straight wins, including five in a row in the double-round robin group stage where SGA had a 5-1 win-loss record tied with Wonju DB Promy of South Korea.

Wonjju DB Promy, however, advanced to the semifinal by virtue of superior quotient alongside host Republic of China Blue, which drew flak for its outright Final Four seat despite a miserable 1-5 slate.

SGA-Pilipinas crushed Republic of China Blue, 117-74, in a strong statement win to finish the elimination round last Thursday.

The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) has apologized for the controversial format change amid public criticisms.

CTBA cited SGA-Pilipinas as the “biggest victim” of the format and schedule changes, which would allow Taiwanese fans to see their hometown bets compete in the semis and participating teams to get ample time to rest.  

“The two-time champion Philippine SGA team from the same group as the Chinese Blue team may be the biggest victim of the new competition format this year. Although they had a better record, they were unable to advance due to the competition format,” the CTBA said.

“The association greatly appreciates the excellent skills demonstrated by SGA in this year’s matches and is grateful,” CTBA added.

Against the Jordanians, SGA-Pilipinas had to rally from a 56-63 deficit midway through the third quarter and closed in by just a point early in the final period.

Ian Miller’s drive with 6:29 left for the go-ahead basket sparked a 13-4 run. Titing Manalili’s basket helped SGA-Pilipinas erect a 94-85 lead with 1:41 left for a safe cushion.

Boban Marjanovic exploded for 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds for SGA-Pilipinas.

Tajuan Agee added 17 points, Matthew Wright and Miller contributed 15 apiece while DJ Fenner scored 11. Manalili had six points and four assists.

“Well, we showed that once we got things going, we’d be a really good team,” Tiu said.

“Reality was we weren’t complete ‘til after the first game and had too short a preparation.”

Hadi Alhami had 21 points and nine rebounds to pace Jordan while Abdullah Olajuwon added 18 points.