2010 Jones Cup: Iran wins back-to-back men's title

Iran

Iran beat Taiwan 92-82 Tuesday to go undefeated and retain the championship in the 2010 R. Williams Jones Cup basketball tournament, further solidifying its position as an Asian basketball powerhouse.

The West Asian country also won back-to-back champions in the 2007 and 2009 Asian Men's Basketball Championship, which was in the past traditionally dominated by China and South Korea.

Trailing at one point by as many as 14 points, Iran rallied from 11 points down at half-time and used a 54-33 run in the second half and its height advantage in the paint to turn the game around, finishing the single round robin men's competition with a perfect 6-0 record.

Lebanon beat the Philippines 73-62 and finished runner-up with five wins and one loss, while Japan came third with four wins and two losses after an 83-67 win over the Taiwan University All-Stars.

Taiwan's national team and the Taiwan University All-Stars finished the tournament, Taiwan's most popular annual international competition, 2-4 and 1-5, respectively.

The Philippines (3-3) and the Crocodiles from Australia (0-6) ranked fourth and seventh in the men's group.

South Korea's Sinsegae Coolcats beat the Taiwan women's national team 80-68 to win the women's competition a day earlier.

Final men's placing:

1. Iran 6-0
2. Lebanon 5-1
3. Japan 4-2
4. Philippines 3-3
5. Taiwan 2-4
6. Taiwan University All-Stars 1-5
7. Australia Crocs 0-6

Lebanon

Japan

Marcus Douthit, Philippines

Lee Hsueh-lin, Taiwan

Chou Po-chen, Taiwan University

E. Estaphan, Lebanon
(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)

Korea’s Sinsegae wins 2010 Jones Cup women’s competition

Kim Na-youn, Korea

Tournament MVP Kim Na-youn had 21 points and 6 rebounds as Korea’s Sinsegae Coolcat beat Taiwan NT 80-68 to win the 2010 William Jones Cup tournament women’s title Monday.

Taiwan finished runner-up and Taiwan University All-Stars, which routed Kazakhstan 118-39 in the third-place game, ranked third in the 4-team competition.

Nothing went right for Taiwan after a 7-0 opening run. Korea quickly turned the game around and led by double-digit in most of the second half. Kim Ji-youn added 17 points.

Liu Chun-yi led Taiwan with 18 points and Chang Shih-chieh had 12. Wen Chi and Chiang Feng-chun had 10 points each.

Tournament Best Five:
F Liu Chun-yi, Taiwan
F Kim Na-youn, Korea
F Darya Li, Kazakhstan
G Wen Chi, Taiwan
G Park Ha-na, Korea

Final Ranking:
1. Sinsegae Coolcat, Korea
2. Taiwan NT
3. Taiwan University All-Stars
4. Kazakhstan NT

Tourney best five

Liu Chun-yi, Taiwan

Chiang Feng-chun, Taiwan

Kim Ji-youn, Korea

(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)

2010 Jones Cup Day 6: Japan beat weary Philippines

Yuta Tabuse, Japan

Resting less than 15 hours after the overtime win over Taiwan Sunday night, the Philippines fell in the hands of Japan, 84-74, Monday in the 2010 William Jones Cup basketball tournament.

The result could be crucial to the final ranking for both teams, which are now tied at 3-2. Japan is scheduled to meet Taiwan University All-Stars Tuesday in a game that heavily favors the Japanese while the Philippines will take on Lebanon, which is now 4-1, in a tough battle.

If Lebanon wins, it will lock up the No. 2 with a 5-1 record and the Philippines finished 3-3. If the Philippines pulls out a win, Philippines, Lebanon and Japan could be in a three-way tie at 4-2.

Back to the game, Japan enjoy an advantage of having a "bye" day on Sunday over the tired Philippine team. A 7-0 run early in the 4th quarter increased Japan's lead to double-digit before the Philippines managed to pull within four, but that's the best they could do.

Marcus Douthit once again led the Philippines with 20 points to go with 21 rebounds. Marnel Baracael had 24 points. Japeth Aguilar and Japan's Takuya Kawamura both sat out the game.

"There's no enough time for us to rest and be in game condition after the game wnet into overtime last night, " said Philippines head coach Rajko Toroman. japans head coach Thomas Wisman also admitted that his team was able to pull it off in the final period because of better stamina.

In other games, Iran defeated Taiwan University All-Stars, 97-65, with no problem. Lebanon routed Crocs 81-52 with Jackson Vroman sitting out the game.

Standings:
Iran 5-0
Lebanon 4-1
Philippines 3-2
Japan 3-2
Taiwan 2-3
Taiwan University All-Stars 1-4
Crocs 0-6

Lin Wei-han, Taiwan University

Nikkhah Bahrami, Iran

(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)

2010 Jones Cup Day 5: Philippines edges Taiwan in overtime

Let’s just say Marcus Douthit almost single-handedly took the Philippines to a 96-93 overtime victory over host Taiwan NT Sunday before Joseph Casio stripped the potential game-tying shot away from Lee Hsueh-lin. But both sides agreed that refs suck in this game.

Douthit was a man among boys, tallying 33 points, 22 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 4 blocks. However, the Philippines almost let the win slip away. Led by 12 points with four minutes to go in regulation, Philippines failed to hold the lead as the game went into overtime.

It showed mental lapses again in the extra session. Taiwan again made it a two-point game with 3.9 seconds to go in overtime. After a timeout, Lee Hsueh-lin dribbled to the right corner and was ready to launch a game-winning three. Casio stripped the ball away with no call from the referees.

Casio, thinking that the game was over, grabbed the ball and walked away with the clock still running. It was supposed to be a walking violation. Taiwan protested to no avail.

Give Taiwan sharp shooter Chen Shun-hsiang credit for taking his team on his shoulder when needed. Chen made crucial shots again and again in the final quarter and overtime. He made the last of his game-high sex three-pointers with 17 seconds to go in regulation to tie the score at 80 and scored four points to cut the deficit to 89-88 in overtime.

Chen finished with 32 points, making 6 of 8 three-pointers.

The Philippines led 73-62 with four minutes to go in regulation before Taiwan made four threes in the final rally.

(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)

2010 Jones Cup Day 5 results

E. Estaphan, Lebanon

Lebanon 96-66 Taiwan University All-Stars
Lebanon: E. Estaphan 14p
Taiwan University: Chou Po-chen 11p, Liu Cheng 11p

J. Davari, Iran (L) and Crocs' D. Matacz (R)

Iran 84-54 Crocs
Iran: S. Darvarpanah Fard Karekani 28p, R. Arghavan 17p, I. Zani Mashhady 16p
Crocs: B. Stanely 11

Philippines 96-93 (OT) Taiwan
Philippines: M. Douthit 33p+22rb+5a+5s+4blk, M. Baracael 14p, J. P. Aguilar 11p
Taiwan: Chen Shun-hsiang 32p, Chen Tzu-wei 16p, Lee Hsueh-lin 13p

Standings:
Iran 4-0
Lebanon 3-1
Philippines 3-1
Japan 2-2
Taiwan 2-3
Taiwan University All-Stars 1-3
Crocs 0-5

2010 Jones Cup: Taiwan, South Korea to meet in women’s final

Ma Yi-hung, Taiwan

This result is expected but it’s now official: Taiwan NT will meet South Korea’s Sinsegae Coolcat in the women’s final of the 2010 William Jones Cup tournament.

In the Sunday cross-over semifinals, Korea thumped Kazakhstan 106-33 and Taiwan also showed no mercy against Taiwan University All-Stars with a 103-38 rout.

Korea’s Youn Yun-ah tallied 40 points and 16 rebounds and Kim Ji-hyun was even better with a triple-double -- 28 points, 10 boards and 10 assists. Park Ha-na added 23 points and 9 rebounds.

Ma Yi-hung led Taiwan NT with 16 points while Liu Chun-yi, who only had two points against Korea in the Saturday loss, had 15. Liu Chia-wei was the only player on Taiwan University All-Stars to score in double-digit, finishing the game with 19 points.

Liu Chun-yi, Taiwan

(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)

2010 Jones Cup Day 4: Iran outduels Lebanon to go 3-0

Bahrami, Iran

Iran came from behind to beat Lebanon 79-71 Saturday in the battle of two undfeated teams in the 2010 R. William Jones Cup basketball tournament while host Taiwan was handed its first defeat after a 94-85 loss to Japan.

Defending champion Iran is now 3-0 after the win as Lebanon and the Philippines are one step behind at 2-1 respectively in the seven-team single round-robin men's competition. Taiwan tied with Japan at 2-2.

Iranian forward Mohammad Samad Nikkhah Bahrami scored 30 points, including 17 in the first half, in the much-anticipated game between the defending Asian champion and its West Asian opponent Lebanon, which finished 4th in the last Asian Championship. 2.10-meter center Asghar Kardoust Poustinsaraei added 20 points and 14 boards.

After see-sawing first three quarters, Iran finally took advantage of the absence of Lebanese big man Jackson Vroman, who fouled out of the game with four minutes to go, in the last period during which it outscored Lebanon 26-7 to go from behind.

"It's always tough to beat Lebanon, " Iran head coach Veselin Matic said.

Vroman led Lebanon with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Rony Fahed had 10.

Japan did not panick when Taiwan opened the game aggressively and led by double-digit after five minutes. Led by point guard Yuta Tabuse and Takuya Kawamura, who had a team-high 25 points, Japan toughened up its defense and answered with fastbreaks of its own to lead by three, 48-45, at the half and never looked back.

Tabuse showed his all-around game, finishing with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.

Taiwan University All-Stars beat Australia Crocodiles 88-77 for its first win. The Crocs suffered its fourth straight setback. The younger Taiwan University, which trailed by as many as 16 points early, took advantage of the slower and older Aussie with runs of 17-3 and 14-2 in the third and final period.

In the women's competition, South Korea edged Taiwan national team 80-78 to go 3-0 in the preliminary round. Taiwan University All-Stars routed Kazakhstan 149-55.

South Korea will meet Kazakhstan and Taiwan will meet Taiwan University All-Stars in the semifinals.

Results:
Iran 79-71 Lebanon (42-44)
Iran: M.S. Nikkhah Bahrami 30p, A. Kardoust Poustinsaraei 20p+14rb
Lebanon: J. Vroman 14p+7rb, R. Fahed 10p

Taiwan University All-Stars 88-77 Crocs
Taiwan University: Chou Po-chen 23p+8rb+3blk, Liu Cheng 19p+11rb+4s, Sung Yu-hsuan 16p
Crocs: D. Matacz 28p+18rb

Japan 94-85 Taiwan
Japan: T. Kawamura 25p, Y. Tabuse 15p+9rb+6a+4s
Taiwan:

Men's Standings:
Iran NT 3-0
Lebanon 2-1
Taiwan NT 2-1
Philippines NT 2-1
Japan NT 1-2
Taiwan University 1-2
Townsville Crocs 0-4

Women's Standings:
Korea 3-0
Taiwan 2-1
Taiwan University 1-2
Kazakhstan 0-3

Liu Cheng, Taiwan University All-Stars

Chiang Feng-chun, Taiwan

(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)

Clarification about the Australian Crocs team

Mr. Ryan Nankervis down in Australia was kind enough to write me and tell me that the Crocs currently playing in the 2010 William Jones Cup has nothing to do with the Townsville Crocodiles, which finished 3rd place last season in the NBL.

In other words, I was misinformed on my previous reports and will from now on refer to the team just "Crocs." This Crocs team appeared not to be a NBL team. I am very sorry about the mistakes.

I should have noticed the mistake because I was telling myself that "man, this is weird. The third place team in the NBL got blown out in every game?"

2010 Jones Cup Day 3: Iran, Lebanon undefeated

Bahrami, Iran

Lebanon beat host Taiwan NT 93-84 and defending champion Iran beat Japan 81-68 as the two West Asian teams became the only undefeated teams in the seven-team men's competition of the 2010 William Jones Cup tournament.

Lebanon and Iran are now 2-0 with Taiwan NT and Philippines one step behind at 2-1.

Taiwan opened the game with a brilliant 29-18 first quarter but had no answers against Lebanese towering fronline with only one player taller than 200 centimeters. Lebanon hit the offensive boards and ignited a 23-6 run in the second half for a double-digit lead with more than four minutes to go in the period.

Almost half of the Taiwan national team players -- and four fifth of its starting lineup -- sat out the tourney due to injuries to rehab for the upcoming Asian Games, which will be held in Guangzhou, China in November.

Sharp shooter Mohammad Samad Nikkhah Bahrami had 34 points for Iran in the hard-fought win. Japan's Takuya Kawamura had 25 points and Yuta Tabuse added 20 points.

Marcus Douthit, an American-born naturalized 211-centimeter center, had 17 points and 13 rebounds and led the Philippines to a 90-64 victory over Townsville Crocodiles of Australia, which remained winless after three games. Dylon Simon Ababou scored 17 for the Philippines. The Crocs was led by Damian Matacz, who had 16 points, and Lee Smith, who had 13.

Taiwan national team and Korea's Sinsegae Coolcat are leading the 4-team women's competition, which will have a cross-over semifinal after a single round robin preliminary round.

Men's Standings:
Iran NT 2-0
Lebanon 2-0
Taiwan NT 2-1
Philippines NT 2-1
Japan NT 1-2
Taiwan University 0-2
Townsville Crocs 0-3

Women’s Standings:
Taiwan 2-0
Korea 2-0
Taiwan University 0-2
Kazakhstan 0-2

Japeth Paul Aguilar, Philippines

Marcio Lassiter, Philippines

Takuya Kawamura, Japan

Yuta Tabuse, Japan

2010 Jones Cup Day 2: Iran beat Philippines

Bahrami

Led by sharp shooter Mohammad Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, defending champion Iran showed its poise and beat Philippines 81-68 in its opening game of the 2010 William Jones Cup tournament.

The game was just a warm-up before the two teams potentially meet again in the Asian Games or the next Asian Championship, but it was definitely a satisfying win for Iran, which is now guided by Veselin Matic, against its former coach Rajko Toroman.

Iran jumped in front early, leading by as many as 17 points, but the Philippines cut the deficit to seven midway in the third quarter before Iranians pulled away.

In other games, Yuta Tabuse sat out the game but thanks to brilliant play from Tomoo Amino, who had 21 points, and Takuya Kawamura, who had 18, Japan routed Townsville Crocs with no problem.

Taiwan University All-Stars put up a good fight against Taiwan NT but experience prevailed. Lee Hsueh-lin had 19 points as Taiwan NT closed out the game with a 12-0 run for a 84-74 victory.

Iran 81-68 Philippines
Iran: M.S. Nikkhah Bahrami 27p+8rb+8a, A. Kardoust Poustinsaraei 18p+4rb, I. Zandi Mashhady 16p+7rb
Philippines: M. Douthit 16p+8rb+4blk

Japan 97-69 Townsville Crocs
Japan: T. Amino 21p+6rb+3blk, T. Kawamura 18p
Crocs: D. Matacz 17p+9rb, L. Smith 10p+8rb

Taiwan 84-74 Taiwan University
Taiwan: Lee Hsueh-lin 19p+5a+4s
TWU: Lin Wei-han 22p (9-14 FG), Liu Cheng 12p+9rb

Men’s Standings:
Taiwan NT 2-0
Iran NT 1-0
Lebanon 1-0
Philippines NT 1-1
Japan NT 1-1
Taiwan University 0-2
Townsville Crocs 0-2

Women’s results:
Korea Sinsegae 88-71 Taiwan University
Taiwan 132-29 Kazakhstan

Women’s Standings:
Taiwan 1-0
Korea 1-0
Taiwan University 0-1
Kazakhstan 0-1

Marcio Lassiter, Philippines

Takuya Kawamura, Japan

Tomoo Amino, Japan

Lee Hsueh-lin, Taiwan

Lin Wei-han, Taiwan University

(Photos: ESPN Taiwan)