Iran and Canada yesterday won their respective matches to stay atop the standings with two wins apiece in the William Jones Cup at the Sinjhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
Star forward Vahid Dalizahan scored 24 points, one of three Iran players to reach double digits, in a 78-61 victory over Japan.
The Japan attacking tandem of Takuya Hashimoto and Ryota Takanishi made 14 points each, but they could not handle Iran’s powerful offense and succumbed to their second loss of the weekend.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Earlier, Canada, represented by 3D Global Sports, cruised to an 88-59 triumph over Indonesia.
It was an all-round effort from Canada, with six players in double digits, with Connor Wood topping the list with 17 points.
The Philippines team of Ateneo Blue Eagles got off to a winning start, defeating Taiwan White 87-64 in the late-afternoon game.
Ferdinand Ravena was the top scorer with 17 points, while Kakou Kouame pulled down 18 rebounds to power the Philippines to victory.
In results from Saturday, forward Liu Cheng drained 10 points in the final quarter to lead Taiwan Blue to a 74-67 triumph over Japan.
It was the first win for the Taiwan national squad with American coach Henry Charlie Parker at the helm. He had been their assistant coach previously.
Japan led 31-24 at halftime, but Taiwan Blue came out firing on all cylinders to hit 27 and 23 points in the third and fourth quarters respectively to pull off a comeback victory.
“Liu had a fantastic game and I hope to see more of our fast attack,” Parker said after the game. “We needed to get a winning result in the Jones Cup to regain the fans’ support.”
Iran on Saturday trounced Lithuania 76-48, while South Korea defeated Indonesia 92-86 in overtime.
Canada battled Taiwan White on Saturday afternoon, with the visitors grinding out an 83-73 win.
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