Press Release - Jinggoy commends Strong Group-Pilipinas 43rd Jones Cup feat

SENATE President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has filed a resolution urging the Senate to commend the Strong Group-Pilipinas basketball team for reclaiming the 2024 William Jones Cup championship title the Philippines last won in 2019.

"Team Philippines displayed athletic excellence, unyielding spirit, and resilience throughout their Jones Cup campaign, overcoming a depleted roster due to the absence of its three key players because of injuries and illness, succeeding against the defending champions, and outperforming teams from the host country playing with home-court advantage," Estrada said in his Senate Resolution No. 1075.

The latest victory clinched the seventh overall title for the Philippines and secured the country's standing as a basketball powerhouse and the second best-performing team in the Jones Cup history next to the USA.

The country's basketball team bagged the gold medal in 1981, 1985, 1998, 2012, 2016 and 2019.

Strong Group-Pilipinas, Estrada said, showcased the exceptional caliber and sportsmanship of Filipino basketball players, proving that they are at par with the world's best, thereby bringing pride and honor to the country and inspiration to the Filipino people.

In regaining the Jones Cup title, Strong Group-Pilipinas completed an 8-0 winning streak amid the grueling nine-day tournament held from July 13 to 21 in Taiwan.

Strong Group-Pilipinas outplayed all its competitors, starting with the United Arab Emirates via a 104-79 victory, followed by Australia with a 91-69 score, then Ukraine, Malaysia, USA, and Japan, via 82-74, 89-54, 112-90, and 92-79 respectively. They prevailed against the host country's team in the last two games of the 43rd William Jones Cup men's event.

The Jones Cup, named after Renato William Jones, one of the founding fathers and the first Secretary General of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), is an esteemed annual international basketball tournament held since 1977.

Team Philippines was represented by Strong Group Athletics (SGA) called Strong Group-Pilipinas, composed of Ange Kouame, Kiefer Ravena, Rhenz Abando, Jordan Heading, RJ Abarrientos, Dave Ildefonso, Geo Chiu, Caelan Tiongson, Allen