Missing the Jones Cup

There have been 40 men’s basketball competitions in the Jones Cup since its inception in 1977 as Chinese-Taipei’s tribute to the late Renato William Jones who served as FIBA’s first secretary-general for 44 years from 1932 to 1976. Jones was an Englishman born in Italy and died in Germany in 1981 at the age of 74. He pushed for the recognition of Asia as a zone commission at the 1964 FIBA World Congress in Tokyo. It was Jones who overruled the referees and ordered two replays in the last minute of the US-Soviet Union game for the gold medal of the 1972 Munich Olympics where the Russians scored on a buzzer-beating layup to win, 51-50 and snap the Americans’ streak of seven straight championships and 63 consecutive wins since basketball was introduced in the Summer Games in 1936.

In the Jones Cup history, the men’s tournament was not held in 1979 (only the women played), 1989 (a fire burned down the Chunghwa Sports Stadium) and 2003 (due to the SARS epidemic). This year, the Jones Cup was scheduled to be held next month but was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers desperately tried to save the Jones Cup but they would’ve shouldered the costs of testing every visiting player and imposing a five-day quarantine in designated hotels. International players would’ve also been required to submit to another test and undergo a 14-day quarantine before returning to their home countries. The possibility of contamination during the tournament was another cause for concern. In the end, it was decided to cancel the games.

The Philippines has been a regular participant in the Jones Cup, winning six championships, placing second once and third thrice. Only the US has claimed more titles with 15. The first Philippine championship came in 1981 with coach Ron Jacobs calling the shots for the Northern Cement team made up of Fil-Ams Ricardo Brown and Willie Pearson, Frankie Lim, J. B. Yango, future naturalized players Jeff Moore and Dennis Still and a slew of imports, namely, Eddie Joe Chavez, Bruce Webster, Steve Lingenfelter, Michael Antoine, Willie Polk and Steve Schall. Jacobs returned in 1985 to lead the Philippines, this time sponsored by San Miguel Corp., to its second Jones Cup crown. Then came 1998 when coach Tim Cone piloted the Centennial squad to the throne. In 2012, Chot Reyes became the first Filipino coach to win the Jones Cup, steering the national team to a stirring 76-75 win over the US in the clincher. L. A. Tenorio was the Jones Cup MVP that year and his teammates included Gabe Norwood, Ranidel de Ocampo, Larry Fonacier, Gary David, Jay-R Reyes, Jeff Chan and Sol Mercado.

In 2016, coach Bo Perasol brought the Philippines its fifth title, compiling an 8-0 record to sweep with a Mighty Sports lineup that listed NBA veterans Vernon Macklin, Al Thornton and Hamady N’Diaye backed up by Troy Gillenwater, Dewarick Spencer, Michael Singletary, Zach Graham, Jason Brickman, Sunday Salvacion, T. Y. Tang, Larry Rodriguez, Leo Avenido, Edrick Ferrer and Jeric Teng. In 2019, coach Charles Tiu with former Gilas mentor Rajko Toroman by his side took Mighty Sports to another 8-0 romp and capturing a sixth championship for the Philippines. This time, the roster was bannered by Renaldo Balkman, Eugene Phelps, N’Diaye, Graham, Roosevelt Adams, Mikey Williams, Brickman, McKenzie Moore, Aaron Black, Jeremiah Gray, Joseph Yeo, Gab Banal and Caesar Wongchuking.

One of the most memorable Philippine wins in the Jones Cup was San Miguel’s 108-100 overtime decision over the US, coached by Purdue’s legendary Gene Keady, in 1985. Chip Engelland, now the San Antonio Spurs assistant coach, erupted for 43 points but what brought the Americans to their knees was the incredible play of Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic who combined for 42 points. Jacobs said the Americans were fascinated by the Skywalker and the Triggerman whom they called Heckle and Jeckle after the yellow-billed wise-cracking magpie cartoon characters. Others in the Philippine team were Moore, Still, Hector Calma, Yves Dignadice, Franz Pumaren, Tonichi Yturri, Alfie Almario, Jun Tan and Elmer Reyes. Reserves were Jerry Codiñera, Peter Aguilar, Al Solis and Naning Valenciano. The US was led by future NBA players Harold Pressley, Kenny Gattison, Joe Wolf and Kevin Henderson. Jay Bilas, Tommy Amaker, Anthony Watson, Carven Holcombe, John Brownlee, Frank Ford, Troy Lewis and Todd Mitchell rounded up the cast.