Game 1:Costa Rica 70-58 Philippines
Underrated Costa Rica stunned defending champion Philippine 70-58 in the opening game of the 22nd R. Williams Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament.
Costa Rica used its frontline advantage and led as many as 18 points. Hotshooting of Jorge Arias, who exploded for 22p and 9rb, kept Filipino still one step behind in the second half. Orlando Daily(194cm) and Andres Leandro(205cm) netted 13 each.
On the other hand, cold shooting Philippine never recover from early double digit deficit. Trailing 58-59 with 2:30 remaining, two ill-time turnovers cost them the first chance to take the lead. Philippines collapsed in the final minute.
Philippines shot 11-39 from two-point range, 5-14 from three-point range and committing 14 turnovers. Ronald Magtulis and Dale Singson led with 11 points each. Vincente Hizon scored 10 points.
Iloilo players demonstrated dazzling one-on-one skills but engaged too much in isolations, scored only 8 points in the first 10 minutes and trailed 8-25. Costa Rica's Orland Daily had three monter dunks in the same span. Hizon's three-pointer at the buzzer cut the deficit
to 31-38 at halftime.
Philippine regained its form in the second half, quick penetration resulted in numerous free throw chances and gradually crawling back. Magtulis scored seven consecutive points and led Philippine rallying to 58-59, when Hizon committed his fifth fouls and left the game.
Costa Rica's Daily grabbed 9 rebounds and Leandro grabbed 8 also.
Philippines:Singson 11p(4-15),5rb,1a..Magtulis11p(4-7),4rb,2a...Hizon 10p(3-10),3rb...Aquino 9p...Santamaria 6p...Villamin 5p...Mente 4p...Dominic Uy 2p
Game 2: South Korea 93-89(OT) Taiwan National Second
Defending Asian champion South Korea was pushed by Taiwan's youngsters to the last minute and survived another shocker. South Korea , which trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, was led by Cho Sung-Won's 25 points, coupled with Seo Jang-Hoon's 22 and Hyun Joo-Yup's 17. 34 year-old Hur Jae finished with mediocre 11 points.
Former Korean national coach Cheng Kong-Hee, the technical advisor for Taiwan National Second, used his knowledge on Korean basketball and help Taiwan National Second cut off Korea's passing game. Lin Jia-Huang made 4 three-pointers in the first half, totaling five in the game and led Taiwan National Second with 25 points. Chang Hsian-Min scored 21.
Game was tied with 78-78 in the end of regulation after three foul shots by Taiwan National Second with 0.3 seconds remaining.
Game 3: Taiwan National 65-56 Bahrain National
Chu Chih-Chin exposed Bahrain's lack of height with 14 points to lead the balanced-scoring Taiwan National pass Bahrain. It's almost like an automatic win for Taiwan. However, local media was worried about their NT's second-tier performance.
(NOTE)
CTBA changed Jones Cup's semifinal format to single round robin yesterday to ensure Taiwan and South Korea meet at least once in the final four. Under the new format, four semifinal team play each other once before the top two winning teams going to the final.
The original semi format was A1 vs B2 and B1 vs A2 with winners advancing to the championship game.