Javi Gomez de Liaño will chase a championship in the William Jones Cup with Strong Group after cutting ties with KBL club Anyang Red Boosters.
Barely a month after re-signing with Korean Basketball League club Anyang JKJ Red Boosters, Javi Gomez de Liaño finds himself at a career crossroads as he takes his talents to Strong Group for their upcoming stint at the William Jones Cup beginning Saturday, July 12.
De Liaño, who revealed that he had been terminated from Anyang recently, is eyeing something positive while mulling over the next steps of his basketball journey.
[READ: Javi Gomez de Liaño re-signs with Anyang Red Boosters in KBL]
“I’m hoping we repeat the success that we had in 2020 [with coach Charles]. I already think that we can. This squad is very deep and I just can’t wait to play our first game,” de Liaño said after SGA’s training on Wednesday.
Tiu added de Liaño and Ian Miller to a squad comprised of last year’s SGA core that won the championship in the Jones Cup, which set up a reunion for the coach and the former UP guard five years after winning a different championship with Mighty Sports.
Now with a different team and entering as defending champions, de Liaño wants to be able to contribute well, especially after going through a number of experiences since then — including stints in the KBL, the Japan B.LEAGUE, and the PBA.
“I’d say from that time [in 2020], I’ve grown a lot. It’s not that I’m being complacent but every year, I try to improve a certain skill in my game,” he said.
“Just looking back, I’m just happy to be part of this team again playing with coach Charles,” he added.
For Tiu, he hopes to be able to utilize his former player more, after a much younger Gomez de Liaño played sparingly under his care with Mighty Sports. Armed with different skills and a deeper purpose, Tiu believes there is room for him to shine further this time.
“He’s definitely improved so much as a player. His confidence level is up there, he’s matured so much. I’ve been following his career even when he played in the PBA and you know, he’s really surprised and impressed me so I’m happy to get a chance to coach him,” said Tiu.
“Hopefully this time, I can give him more runs because I know in the previous teams, we didn’t get to, I didn’t get to give him that much playing time but I keep a great relationship with the brothers and I’m just happy to have him,” he added.
Gomez de Liaño and the rest of SGA will open their title defense on Sunday, July 13, when they face home team ROC Blue — Chinese Taipei’s national team. This is a rematch of last year’s championship game.