Bernadette Soriano

Former NBA swingman Andre Roberson ignited a third-quarter blaze as Strong Group Athletics-Philippines stormed back from 14 points down to bag a gritty 67-56 comeback dub over Chinese Taipei-Blue in the 2025 William Jones Cup opener at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Taiwan, July 13.

Photo Courtesy of Strong Group Philippines.

Going toe-to-toe with last year’s gold medal rivals right out the gate, the defending champs took a few early punches but flipped the switch after the break — uncorking a massive 21-0 blitz that turned a 28-35 hole into a commanding 54-37 cushion entering the payoff period.

Roberson jumpstarted the turnaround with 8 of his game-high 17 during the critical tear, including a putback to knot it at 35-all and a bully-ball-and-one at the 5:19 mark that gave Strong Group its first taste of the lead.

Rhenz Abando turned defense into fireworks, rattling the rim with back-to-back two-handed throwdowns in transition that had the Pinoy bench erupting and the crowd reeling as the lead shot up to double digits, 45-35.

From there, it was defensive clamps all night.

Chinese Taipei-Blue went ice-cold, held scoreless for nearly the entire third quarter as Strong Group’s rotating defense and active hands locked everything from deep to the rim.

“This is what veterans are supposed to do,” said head tactician Charles Tiu.

“We had a rough start, yes, but the guys didn’t panic. They responded like professionals.”

Roberson stuffed the stat sheet with a monster line: 17 points, 19 rebounds, and 5 steals flexing his hustle, IQ, and two-way presence.

“He was incredible,” added Tiu of Roberson.

“His energy really lifted the whole team in that third quarter. We were flying around, rotating on defense, just doing everything right. That’s the kind of effort we need every single game.”

Import Ian Miller chipped in 16 markers, while Abando complemented his highlight dunks with an all-around line of 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Chen Yingjun led the Taiwanese side with 14 points, but the offense went ice-cold at crunch time, torched 26-2 in the pivotal third-quarter swing.

The win tees up Strong Group for a shot at a 2-0 start as they lock horns with the Japan Developmental Team on Monday, July 14, at 5:00 PM (Philippine time).