The 2026 William Jones Cup was the 45th staging of the William Jones Cup, an annual international basketball tournament held in Taiwan organized by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA).
The men's tournament took place from 14 to 23 August 2026, followed by the women's tournament from 26 to 29 August 2026. All games were played at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
Two-time defending champion Strong Group Athletics of the Philippines failed to reach the knockout round despite placing second in the group stage, due to a controversial rule that grants the host team Republic of China (Chinese Taipei) Blue an assured semi-final berth regardless of their group stage result. Korean Basketball League club Wonju DB Promy won the men's tournament by defeating American college team UC Irvine Anteaters 98–78 in the final. Meanwhile, the women's tournament was won by Japan, after defeating Republic of China (Chinese Taipei) Blue 75–66 in the final.
Format Men's tournament For the men's tournament, the 2026 William Jones Cup deviated from the traditional format of hosting a single round-robin for all participating teams. Instead, it was confirmed on 5 August 2026 that the eight participating teams will be divided into two groups in a double round-robin format, with a rest day after the third matchday (halfway into the round-robin). The top-two teams from each group will supposedly advance to the semi-finals. However, the host team Republic of China (Chinese Taipei) Blue in Group A was assured of a semi-final berth regardless of its final group standing. The Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA) explained that the guaranteed semi-final berth will "enhance the entertainment value" by ensuring Taiwanese fans can watch their team play in the semi-finals. The CTBA reasoned that their core players "needed to rest and recover" between the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in July and the 2026 Asian Games in September, forcing them to use a lineup of less-experienced players. The invited teams reportedly only knew about this clause upon their arrival in Taiwan.
On the final match day of the group stage on 20 August, the CTBA issued an apology with the injury-stricken Blue team at the bottom of the table while Strong Group Athletics (SGA) of the Philippines on the brink of elimination despite being second in the standings pending their final game. The CTBA has conceded that SGA were the "biggest victim" of the controversial format. The CTBA pledged to "review and improve the tournament format and scheduling for next year."
On the same day, CTBA vice chairman Wen Ta-pei contradicted the narrative that SGA only learned about the format mid-tournament. He said that if SGA head coach Charles Tiu was truly unaware of the format, the responsibility lay with the coach rather than the association. The following day, the CTBA released a statement detailing its account of the timeline for disseminating the rules, stating that it had conveyed the rules to FIBA on 29 July, which included the assured semi-final berth for the host Blue team of Group A. It added that only Wonju DB Promy expressed a formal objection. Sports minister Lee Yang urged the CTBA not to undermine Taiwan's credibility in international competitions in response to the tournament's controversial format favoring the hosts.
Women's tournament The women's tournament had the six participating teams allocated into two groups. However, unlike the men's equivalent, only a single round-robin was played. The teams that topped their groups then qualified for the final, while the runners-up of each group played the third-place game; the teams that finished at the bottom of their groups then played the fifth-place game.
Men's tournament Participating teams + Team Country Notes National team National team National team Strong Group Athletics Philippines Non-league club Republic of China Blue Taiwan National team; hosts Republic of China White National developmental team; hosts Wonju DB Promy South Korea Club team (KBL) UC Irvine Anteaters United States Collegiate team (NCAA Division I)
Group stage Group A
Group B
Classification round Seventh-place game
Fifth-place game
Knockout round
Semi-finals
Third-place game
Final
Awards Award Player TeamAll-Tournament Best Five Ethan Alvano Wonju DB Promy Rayshaun Hammonds Wonju DB Promy Josiah Johnson UC Irvine Anteaters Song Xin-Hao Republic of China Blue Kao Kuo-Hao Republic of China White Most Valuable Player Rayshaun Hammonds Wonju DB Promy
Final standings Rank TeamRecord Wonju DB Promy 7–1 UC Irvine Anteaters 7–1 Republic of China Blue 2–6 4 Republic of China White 3–5 5 Strong Group Athletics 6–1 6 2–5 7 2–5 8 1–6
Women's tournament Participating teams + Team Country Notes National team (2026 Asian Games selection) National team Republic of China Blue Taiwan National team; hosts Republic of China White National developmental team; hosts Cheongju KB Stars South Korea Club team (WKBL) National team
Group stage Group A
Group B
Final round Fifth-place game
Third-place game
Final
Awards Award Player TeamFirst Team Morgan Jones Lebanon Lee Chae-eun Cheongju KB Stars Japan Republic of China Blue Republic of China Blue Most Valuable Player Japan
Final standings Rank TeamRecord Japan 3–0 Republic of China Blue 2–1 Lebanon 2–1 4 Cheongju KB Stars 1–2 5 Republic of China White 1–2 6 Thailand 0–3
References