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Fenner, Gomez de Liaño star as Strong Group routs Qatar to remain spotless in Jones Cup

Fenner, Gomez de Liaño star as Strong Group routs Qatar to remain spotless in Jones Cup

GMA Network15-07-2025
DJ Fenner and Javi Gomez de Liaño took turns in steering Strong Group-Philippines to an 81-54 blowout win against the Qatar national team to remain unbeaten in the William Jones Cup on Tuesday in Taiwan.
Both Fenner and Gomez de Liaño churned out 18 points with the former grabbing seven rebounds and one assist as the Philippine squad improved to 3-0 to open its title defense bid.
Qatar, meanwhile, dropped to 1-3 nearly halfway through the nine-team tournament.
American reinforcement Fenner waxed hot early, dropping 16 of his total output in the first half to help Strong Group establish a 34-25 separation against Qatar.
The rest of the squad led by Gomez de Liaño took care of the job the rest of the way with Ian Miller sinking a pair of three-pointers to send Strong Group to a 49-30 cushion in the third.
Qatar then fought back to end the period, knocking down three triples to cut the deficit to 13 before heading to the fourth, 52-39.
Andre Roberson and Fenner connived in a 6-0 run to open the fourth before Dave Ildefonso sank a pull-up jumper to make it a massive 70-47 lead for the defending champions.
Gomez de Liaño provided the finishing blow, converting seven points late in the game as Strong Group continued its flawless run so far in the annual tournament.
Miller chipped in 10 points while Roberson tallied seven markers but grabbed 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Strong Group will put its unblemished record on the line on Wednesday, when it takes on Australia (2-2) at 5 p.m.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
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