Previously undefeated Philippines stumbled against Lebanon in the biggest upset of the William Jones Cup tournament so far, falling 91-72 short of the Middle Easterners at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium in Tianmu yesterday afternoon to settle with a 4-1 record.
The loss not only put the Philippines virtually out of title contention as they look to another uphill battle against the undefeated defending champs from Iran this afternoon, but also heightens the stakes in tomorrow night’s showdown between Taiwan and Lebanon, with the winner likely to end with a fourth-place finish.
Naturalized standout Jarrid Famous led the way for Lebanon with 11 points in the first quarter that saw his team take a surprise 22-15 advantage against the favored Philippines. That was all they needed to pull off the upset as Elie Stephan poured in 11 in the second quarter to spearhead Lebanon to a double-digit halftime lead before the eventual victory.
United States 95, Japan 73
The US bounced back from a double-overtime loss to Iran on Wednesday with a convincing 95-73 win over Japan in the early game in Tianmu yesterday afternoon, thanks to a 32-point second quarter that gave the US a 51-40 lead at the half.
Five US players scored in double-figures on the night, with speedy guard James Justice leading the way. The 1.77m native of Memphis, Tennessee, was more than his Japanese counterpart could handle as he shot an impressive six-for-eight from the field for a team-high 18 points.
In other Cup play, it was:
‧ South Korea 105, Jordan 84
‧ Iran 83, Taiwan Guan-hua 71
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS