Outplayed by a superior Iranian squad in every facet of the game, the Taiwan College All-Stars dropped a 97-65 decision on day five of Jones Cup play at the Taipei County Gymnasium in Sinjhuang yesterday afternoon. It was their fourth loss of the tournament.
The best and the brightest from Taiwan’s colleges found themselves trailing early in the contest as the Iranians exploded for 30 quick points in the first quarter behind the outstanding shooting of Samad Baharami.
The 1.98m, 99kg, 27-year-old from Tehran needed only 20 minutes of floor time to rack up his game-high 28 points.
Chou Bo-chen and Liu Cheng’s combined total of 23 points were the lone highlight for the local boys whose primary objective prior to entering the tournament was to gain some experience from playing in an international competition.
And to that end, the week-long competition has definitely been well worthwhile, as the young members of the team have all grown tremendously over the course of play, despite an expected 1-5 record for a sixth-place finish.
The Taiwan College All-Stars take on Japan at 5pm this afternoon in their tournament finale.
JAPAN 84, PHILIPPINES 74
A well-rested Japanese team that benefited from having Sunday off easily handled a worn out Philippines squad yesterday afternoon, winning what should be the battle for a third-place finish by an 84-74 margin.
The Philippines needed overtime on Sunday night to top Taiwan in a physically and emotionally demanding match that lasted nearly three hours, meaning the team had less than 15 hours of rest before yesterday afternoon’s game against the Japanese.
And the lack of stamina on the part of the Philippines was clearly evident as they played catch-up ball all game long, before running out of gas in the end to succumb to Japan in a 10-point loss.
A 7-0 run by Japan in the fourth quarter was the difference in the game as it upped the Japanese lead to double-digits, an advantage that was not relinquished en route to the victory.
Japan’s Takuya Kawamura sat out the game.
LEBANON 81, TOWNSVILLE CROCS 52
Lebanon roughed up winless Australian National Basketball League side, the Townsville Crocodiles, with an 81-52 victory late yesterday morning to up their record to 4-1.
The win, achieved without Jackson Vroman who sat out the encounter, all but secured a second-place finish in this year’s competition with this afternoon’s tournament finale against the Philippines remaining on their schedule.
It would take a loss to the Philippines for Lebanon this afternoon, as well as an unlikely loss to the Taiwan College All-Stars by Japan (following the Lebanon-Philippines game) to keep the Lebanese from finishing second this year.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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