Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Day 6: Korea, Taiwan both lost five straight

First off, sorry for the delay. I fell asleep last night in the middle of this story. And I have been busy these two days so I didn't record any game nor make screen captures. Nevertheless, please feel free to download the game stats with the link on the right.

After six days, AIA became the first team earning a semifinal place while Australia U-19 NT, Qatar and Jordan had a three-way tie at 4-2. They will clinch the remaining three semi seeds if there’s no upset on Day 7.

Kazakhstan got a much-needed win from the host Taiwan NT and is now 3-3, tied with Egypt. A loss on Wednesday means no semifinal for both teams. They will put up a fight.

Taiwan NT and Korea University Select Team both dropped fifth straight and are out of the semifinals.

AIA 93-76 Egypt (47-30)

AIA clinched a semifinal berth with a 93-76 win over Egypt. The Egyptians were no match against the U.S. team, which made 15 three-pointers in the game, including seven in the first half. Egypt fell to 3-3.

AIA: D. Brugamin 23p, B. Woodside 22p+6a, W. Smith 14p+6rb, M. Kitts 10p
EGY: M. Khorshed 12p, T. Mostafa 10p

Australia 75-54 Qatar (33-25)

The kids from Australia pulled off another upset and boosted its record to a very comfortable 4-2. The game actually was close before the final period, when the Australians made five threes en route to a 30-13 quarter theta made the score out of reach.

AUS: R. Broekhoff 14p, B. Motum 11p, C. Ellis 10p
QAT: S.A. Ali 18p+8rb, D. Mousa 14p, B.A. Mohammed 11p

Jordan 79-76 Korea (36-56)

Trailing by 20 at the half, Jordan showed everyone why it won the Jones Cup last year. Jordan had a 17-0 run in the third quarter and Islam Abaas had five points in the last two minutes as Jordan, which trailed by as many as 22 points, pulled off an improbable comeback win.

Korea, one of the most inconsistent teams in the tournament, let another one get away after squandering a 13-point halftime lead against Egypt on Day 3. After a 56-point first half, Koreans scored only seven points in the final quarter.

JOR: J.A. Shmala 22p, Z. Alkhas 15p+10rb, I. Abaas 10p+8rb, W. Al-Sous 11p+10a
KOR: Heo Il-young 25p, Byun Hyun-soo 19p+6a, Choi Yun-ho 12p, Kim Kang-sun 9p+7a

Kazakhstan 84-69 Taiwan (38-29)

Kazakhstan opened the game with a 12-4 run and never trailed. Taiwan once again experienced a scoring drought in the second quarter, going scoreless in four minutes, and trailed by as many as 24 points.

KAZ: R. Yargaliyev 23p+6rb, A. Ponomarev 15p+18rb, Y. Issakov 15p+10rb, S. Fadeikin 14p+9rb
TW: Yang Chin-min 17p, Lee Hsueh-lin 15p

Standings
1. Athletes in Action 5-1
2. Qatar NT 4-2
2. Jordan NT 4-2
2. Australia U-19 4-2
5. Egypt NT 3-3
5. Kazakhstan NT 3-3
7. Taiwan NT 1-5
8. Korea Univ. Selects 0-6