Strong Group taps young guns for Jones Cup

MANILA, Philippines — Three more players have been added to the Strong Group-Pilipinas squad gearing to to carry the flag in the 43rd William Jones Cup on July 13 to 21 in Taiwan. 

Letran’s incoming freshman Jonathan Manalili along with St. Benilde’s Allen Liwag and Tony Ynot will serve as the young guns of the stacked unit under the tutelage of head coach Charles Tiu, also the mentor of the Blazers in the NCAA. 

“Having Jonathan, Allen, and Tony in our team is our way of helping develop the future of Philippine basketball. We always make sure to have young players in our team to give them an early glimpse of what international basketball is like,” said Jacob Lao, president of Strong Group Athletics. 

Manalili, the youngest of the trio at 19 years old, is coming off a stellar Season MVP campaign with the Squires in the NCAA Season 99 juniors as Letran won back-to-back titles.