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. 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.
History 2023 Dubai tournament The Strong Group Athletics (SGA) organization maintains its own basketball team which has competed in various international tournament.
SGA debuted in the 2023 Dubai International Basketball Championship in the United Arab Emirates, with Mighty Sports and Acto City sponsoring their stint. Mighty Sports, which was owned by Caesar Wongchuking, gave way to help Jacob Lao transition from being a collegiate player to a sports official. Lao is the son of businessman and sports patron Frank Lao.
SGA had Charles Tiu as coach who formerly guided Mighty and its roster is reinforced by former NBA players. While the team was being formed as early as December 2022, training only began on January 11, 2023 for the tournament which began late that month. Strong Group finished as quarterfinalists.
2024 tournaments They returned in 2024 edition with Tiu reprising his role and backed by Brian Goorjian as team consultant. Concluding their 2023 campaign as a disappointment, SGA continued their policy of tapping former NBA players. They reached the final, but lost the title to Lebanese club Al Riyadi. They took part at the 2024 William Jones Cup in 2024 and finished as champions.
2025 Dubai tournament SGA returned in the 2025 edition of the Dubai tournament. They lost the semifinals against Tunisia and boycotted the third place playoff in protest of the officiating. They finished fourth, with their final game ruled as a 0–20 default. Philippine Basketball Association commissioner, William Marcial expressed his preference that SGA should have played the game as it is representing the Philippines in the tournament.
2025 and 2026 William Jones Cup They defended their William Jones Cup title in the 2025 edition In the 2026 edition, SGA failed to defend their title despite placing second in a group of four teams with the host team to the semifinals advancing regardless of the result. SGA won its last match, the fifth place game against Jordan.
Current roster The following is the roster of the Strong Group for the 2025 William Jones Cup.
| style="vertical-align:top;" | Head coach Charles Tiu
Legend (C) Team captain (I) Import Nat. – Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events Age – describes ageon January 24, 2025
Players Player Nationality Tournament202320242025WJCWJC Javi Gomez de LianoIan Miller
Head coaches Charles Tiu (2023–)
Honors William Jones Cup Champions (2): 2024, 2025
Dubai International Basketball Championship Runner-up (1): 2024
See also Mighty Sports Go For Gold Benilde Blazers Pilipinas Super League
References