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.
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
RSS