South Korea produced their best performance of the 38th William Jones Cup so far, defeating titleholders Iran 67-50 in a big upset yesterday, while Philippines-Mighty Sports notched another victory to sit atop the standings with four wins and no losses.
Playing to their strengths, South Korea took the game to their opponents from the start with a fast pace and plenty of quick breaks.
They went in at halftime with a 33-22 lead and Iran’s starters could not keep up with South Korea’s speedy transitions as the lead gradually widened in the second half.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Tiapei Times
Starter Kim Sun-hyung and bench forwards Heo Il-young and Kim Jun-yi found their shooting range as they combined for 40 points.
South Korea starting center Lee Seoung-hyun had a scintillating day, anchoring the defense and directing traffic in the lane.
Lee contributed eight points, six rebounds and four assists.
South Korea had the defense shadowing high-scoring Iran guard Behnam Yakhchali throughout.
Despite the extra attention, Yakhchali found enough space to score 13 points, making three-for-six with his trademark three-pointers.
However, the defense had him locked down in the final stretch and he was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
The upset cleared the way to the No. 1 position for Philippines-Mighty Sports, who took full advantage by crushing Japan 87-66.
Four players scored in double digits, led by Zachary Graham, who nailed 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Senegalese starting center Hamady N’Diaye, playing for Mighty Sports, impressed with another dominating display. He recorded eight points and 10 rebounds.
Local reports have linked N’Diaye to the Super Basketball League after the big man’s performances at the tournament.
Japan forward Nishikawa Takanobu top scored for the losers with 15 points, while starter Yuki Mitsuhara hit a double-double, with 10 rebounds and 10 points.
The Philippines gave Japan no chance from the tip-off, sinking 28 points in the first quarter on their way to a 50-21 lead at halftime.
They eased off after the intermission, scoring 37 points in the second half for a 21-point final margin.
In the early afternoon contest, Egypt marched to their second win with a 79-67 triumph over India, who have yet to taste victory in the competition.
Starting guard Amr Sherif Abdelhalim and Ibrahim El Gammal had 19 and 16 points respectively in a big scoring haul for Egypt, with three other teammates also hitting double-digits for hoops.
In yesterday’s late game, US-Sacramento State thrashed Taiwan B 81-60.
Today’s games see Philippines-Mighty Sports looking to consolidate their position on top against India at 1pm, US-Sacramento State taking on Egypt at 3pm, Taiwan B Team hosting Japan at 5pm and Taiwan A playing Iran at 7pm.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Jemimah Rodrigues on Thursday hit an unbeaten 127 as India pulled off a record chase of 339 against Australia to set up a Women’s World Cup final against South Africa. Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare at DY Patil Stadium, on the outskirts of Mumbai. The hosts finished on a total of 341-5 in reply to Australia’s impressive 338 and ensured there would be a new name on the 50-over trophy tomorrow. Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations
Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the
RSS