Strong Group Athletics (basketball)

Last updated

Strong Group Athletics
LeaguesN/A
Founded2023
Team managerJacob Lao
Head coach Charles Tiu
Ownership Strong Group Athletics
Championships William Jones Cup : 1 (2024)

Strong Group Athletics (SGA) is a men's basketball team based in the Philippines. It is owned and managed by an organization of the same name, which was founded by the Filipino businessman Frank Lao. [1] They are not part of any domestic leagues but a frequent participant of international club tournaments such as the William Jones Cup and the Dubai International Basketball Championship.

Contents

History

The Strong Group maintains its own basketball team which has competed in the Dubai International Basketball Championship in the United Arab Emirates.

They debuted in the 2023 edition, with Mighty Sports and Acto City sponsoring their stint. [2] [3] Strong Group, coached by Charles Tiu, finished as quarterfinalists. [4]

They returned in 2024 edition with Tiu reprising his role and backed by Brian Goorjian as team consultant. [5] They reached the final, but lost the title to Lebanese club Al Riyadi. [6]

SGA are set to retun in the 2025 edition of the Dubai tourament. [7] [8]

Current roster

The following is the roster of the Strong Group for the 2025 Dubai International Basketball Championship. [8] [9] [10]

Strong Group – 2024 William Jones Cup roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
C 1 Flag of the United States.svg Flag of the Philippines.svg Blatche, Andray 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in)38 – (1986-08-22)August 22, 1986
C 34 Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Flag of the Philippines.svg Kouame, Ange 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)27 – (1997-12-15)December 15, 1997
G 23 Flag of the Philippines.svg Abando, Rhenz 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)26 – (1998-03-11)March 11, 1998
SF 10 Flag of the Philippines.svg Ildefonso, Dave 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)24 – (2000-04-14)April 14, 2000
F 43 Flag of the Philippines.svg Liwag, Allen 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
PG 39 Flag of the Philippines.svg Ynot, Tony 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Flag of the Philippines.svg Sanchez, Justine
C Flag of the United States.svg Cousins, DeMarcus  (I)2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)34 – (1990-08-13)August 13, 1990
PG Flag of the Philippines.svg Flag of the United States.svg Brickman, Jason 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)33 – (1991-11-19)November 19, 1991
SG Flag of the Philippines.svg Flag of the United States.svg Mikey Williams 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)33 – (1991-10-27)October 27, 1991
SG Flag of the Philippines.svg Flag of the United States.svg Koon, Chris 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
PF Flag of the United States.svg McCullough, Chris  (I)2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)29 – (1995-02-05)February 5, 1995
SG Flag of the United States.svg Richardson, Malachi  (I)1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)29 – (1996-01-05)January 5, 1996
Head coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (I) Import
  • Nat. – Flags indicate national team
    eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events
  • Age – describes age
    on January 24, 2025

Players

PlayerNationalityTournament
20232024
DIBC [11] [12] DIBC [5] [13] [14] WJC [15]
Rhenz Abando Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
RJ Abarrientos Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Tajuan AgeeFlag of the United States.svg  United States Yes
BJ AndradeFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Renaldo Balkman Flag of Puerto Rico.svg  Puerto Rico Yes
Justine Baltazar Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Sedrick Barefield Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Andray Blatche Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
JD Cagulangan Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines YesYes
Geo ChiuFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Francis EscandorFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
DJ FennerFlag of the United States.svg  United States Yes
Inand FornillosFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Will Gozum Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Jordan Heading Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines YesYes
Dwight Howard Flag of the United States.svg  United States Yes
Dave Ildefonso Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Ange Kouame Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Jacob LaoFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Jerom Lastimosa Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Allen LiwagFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines YesYes
Francis Lopez Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Jonathan ManaliliFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
McKenzie Moore Flag of the United States.svg  United States Yes
Chris McCullough Flag of the United States.svg  United States Yes
Shabazz Muhammad Flag of the United States.svg  United States Yes
Miguel OzconFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Kevin Quiambao Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines YesYes
Kiefer Ravena Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
André Roberson Flag of the United States.svg  United States Yes
Justine SanchezFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Caelan TiongsonFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines Yes
Tony YnotFlag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines YesYes
Nick Young Flag of the United States.svg  United States Yes

Head coaches

Honors

Runner-up (1): 2024

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premier Volleyball League</span> Womens volleyball league in the Philippines

The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is the top-level professional women's volleyball league in the Philippines organized by the Sports Vision Management Group, Inc. The PVL was established in 2004 as the inter-collegiate Shakey's V-League (SVL) until it rebranded to the current entity in 2017. Prior to becoming a full-fledged professional league in 2021, the PVL was open to participation of corporate owned semi-professional clubs and non-collegiate teams backed by local governments.

The Philippines men's national volleyball team represents Philippines in international volleyball competitions and friendly matches, governed by Philippine National Volleyball Federation since 2021.

The Philippines women's national volleyball team represents the Philippines in international volleyball competitions and friendly matches, governed by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mighty Sports</span> Basketball team

Mighty Sports is a basketball team based in the Philippines playing in various domestic tournaments. The team won four championships in the Republica Cup in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Brownlee</span> American and Filipino basketball player (born 1988)

Justin Donta Brownlee is an American naturalized Filipino professional basketball player for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League</span> Mens professional basketball league in the Philippines

The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines consisting of 29 teams as of the 2024 season.

George Isaac Yap Go is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is a three-time UAAP champion with the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Rhenz Joseph Mamuyac Abando is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters of the Korean Basketball League (KBL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shakey's Super League</span> Womens volleyball league in the Philippines

The Shakey's Super League (SSL) is a women's volleyball league in the Philippines contested within the collegiate and high school levels. The league is organized by Shakey's Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI) and the Athletic Events and Sports Management Group Inc. (ACES).

The UAAP Season 85 basketball tournaments are the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball tournaments for the 2022–23 school year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Quiambao</span> Filipino basketball player (born 2001)

Karl Kevin Argana Quiambao, also known by his initials KQ, is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Goyang Sono Skygunners of the Korean Basketball League (KBL).

The Philippines national basketball team was led by head coach Chot Reyes until the appointment of Tim Cone in September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quezon City Gerflor Defenders</span> Womens volleyball team in the Philippines

The Quezon City Gerflor Defenders were a women's volleyball team in the Philippines which played in the Premier Volleyball League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UAAP Season 86 basketball tournaments</span> Basketball competition in the Philippines

The UAAP Season 86 basketball tournaments are the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball tournaments for the 2023–24 school year. The University of the East are the hosts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strong Group Athletics</span> Philippines sports sponsor

The Strong Group Athletics is an organization which sponsors basketball and volleyball teams in the Philippines. The Strong Group was founded by Filipino businessman Frank Lao.

Charles Alandy-Dy Tiu is a TV presenter and basketball coach who currently serves as head coach of Benilde Blazers and Strong Group Athletics. He is the brother of Chris Tiu.

The Quezon Tangerines are a Filipino women's developmental volleyball team based in the province of Quezon. As the volleyball counterpart of the Quezon Huskers, the team will compete in the Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association (MPVA) beginning with the 2024 season.

The UAAP Season 87 basketball tournaments are the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball tournaments for the 2024–25 school year. The University of the Philippines Diliman are the hosts.

The 2024 UST Growling Tigers men's basketball team is representing the University of Santo Tomas in the ongoing 87th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the academic year 2024–25 began on September 7, 2024, and the host school for the season is the University of the Philippines.

The 2024 Shakey's Super League Pre-season Championship was the third edition of the collegiate volleyball competition organized by the Shakey's Super League and the third and final SSL tournament of 2024. The tournament started on September 27, 2024, and will be contested by all 18 teams from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

References

  1. "UAAP: Lady Warriors boost roster as California Academy standouts commit to UE". ABS-CBN News. July 19, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  2. "Strong Group begins Dubai campaign vs UAE national team". Manila Bulletin. January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  3. Li, Matthew (December 23, 2022). "Mighty Sports gives way as Jacob Lao's Strong Group to rep PH in Dubai meet". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  4. Agcaoili, Lance (February 3, 2023). "Strong Group-PH bows out of contention in Dubai". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Sayson, Homer (January 3, 2024). "Strong Group taps Howard, Blatche, Goorjian for Dubai. Is Brownlee next?". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  6. "Strong Group falters vs. Al Riyadi in wild Dubai finals encounter". GMA News. January 29, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  7. Fuertes, Rommel Jr. (January 11, 2025). "Strong Group brings back key cogs for upcoming Dubai tilt". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Suing, Ivan (January 12, 2025). "SGA ready for redemption". Daily Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  9. Ulanday, John Bryan (January 12, 2025). "Abando, Ildefonso beef up SGA". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  10. Payo, Jasmine (January 23, 2025). "Schedule, roster: Strong Group, Zamboanga in 2025 Dubai International Basketball Championship". Rappler. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  11. Li, Matthew (January 24, 2023). "Kevin Quiambao replaces Kouame in Strong Group lineup". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  12. Agcaoili, Lance (January 29, 2023). "Shabazz Muhammad fuels Strong Group-PH to another win in Dubai". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  13. "Strong Group brings in Quiambao, Topex, Escandor, CSB trio for Dubai meet". Tiebreaker Times. January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  14. Ulanday, John Bryan (January 18, 2024). "Strong Group puts loaded lineup to test vs UAE". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  15. "Dave Ildefonso completes Strong Group-Pilipinas roster for Jones Cup". Tiebreaker Times. June 15, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2024.