Taiwan’s men’s national basketball A team last night held off Qatar 88-74 in a neck-and-neck game to record their third victory in the William Jones Cup in Taipei
While Taiwan edged Qatar 19-16 in the first quarter, their opponents equaled them in putting up 22 points in the second, to head into halftime 41-38.
The tit-for-tat play continued into the third, with Taiwan seemingly being matched for every point.
Photo: CNA
However, with Mohammad al-Bachir Gadiaga putting up 11 points in the quarter, Taiwan ended the quarter 71-60. Lee Chi-wei put up four points in the fourth quarter, for Taiwan to overpower their opponents 88-74. Lin Ting-chien had 21 points.
The win leaves them tied atop the board with the US.
On Sunday, Taiwan’s A and B teams overpowered Japan 86-68 and the Philippines 89-79 respectively to each secure their second consecutive victories.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan’s B team used precision long-range shots to secure their win over the Philippines, represented by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association.
The home squad, consisting of promising young talent, shot 40 percent from the three-point line with a combined 12 three-pointers, compared with 6-28 or just 21 percent from their opponents.
Taiwan established a 16-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
Although the Philippines cut the deficit to eight points in the fourth quarter with more physical play, they were unable to narrow the gap.
Taiwanese-American Adam Hinton scored a game-high 17 points with 3 of 7 from the three-point line, while Senegalese forward and center Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Sarr, who has said he plans to seek Taiwanese citizenship to be able to play for the national team, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
In Sunday’s other game, Gadiaga of the Taiwan A team, comprising the main roster of the national team, led with 31 points and four assists in their victory over Japan.
On Saturday, the opening day of the tournament, the Taiwan A team defeated the Philippines 98-79, while the B team overpowered Japan 85-59 at Taipei Heping Gymnasium.
In other action yesterday, the US dominated Japan 108-47, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) topped the Philippines 73-71. On Sunday, Iran beat Qatar 69-63 and the US crushed the UAE 109-49. while on Saturday, South Korea defeated the UAE 100-84 and the US devastated Qatar 105-38.
The annual William Jones Cup international basketball invitational tournament hosted by Taiwan returned this year after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched in Taiwan in 1977, the tournament is named after British basketball promoter Renato William Jones, the first secretary-general of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport’s world governing body, a post he held for 44 years from 1932.
The Philippines’ Mighty Sports won the title in 2019, the last time the tournament was held. The US have won the most William Jones Cup titles, with 15 victories. Taiwan last won in 2004.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS