The Philippines pulled off an upset win over previously undefeated Iran by a slim 77-75 margin on the seventh day of the William Jones Cup tournament at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium in Tianmu yesterday afternoon to take the lead in the standings with a 5-1 record.
The win came only a day after the Philippines were on the receiving end of a colossal upset loss to Lebanon (2-4) that had all but eliminated them from a title run, as many had expected them to lose to three-time defending champions Iran.
However, that was not the case as the underdogs played the Persians shoulder-to-shoulder over the first two quarters to end the first half with a 33-33 stalemate that surprised Iran.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
That was not all as the Philippines picked up where they left off in the first half with a 25-16 run in the third quarter, led by Marcus Douthit and Gabe Norwood’s 15 combined points, to stifle the Persians and take a nine-point advantage.
Even though Iran would make a serious comeback attempt in the fourth, with top-scorer Samad Nikkhah Bahrami downing 15 of their 26 points, it was not enough to overcome the deficit as they fell short by a deuce.
Taiwan 84, Taiwan Guan-hua 66
Taiwan picked up a much-needed 84-66 win over their younger Guan-hua brethren in the sixth game for both teams last night, improving to a 4-2 record that was good enough to tie with South Korea for the fourth spot in the standings.
Though the outcome of the game did not surprise many, the Guan-hua squad showed no signs of inferiority as they enjoyed a lead deep into the third quarter, before surrendering it in an overwhelming fourth to lose by double digits in the end.
Yesterday’s other results:
‧ US 77, Jordan 66
‧ South Korea 84, Japan 62
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was