Lebanon,Jordan and Korea impressive at WILLIAM JONES CUP - Aug 2, 2009 (by Maarouf Mawloud)
TAIPEI (2009 FIBA Asia Championship) If basketball fans in Tianjin, China, are wondering which three teams will reach the podium at the FIBA Asia Championship that tips off in the city on August 6, they have received interesting food for thought at the William Jones Cup in Taipei where Lebanon, Jordan and Korea have played well.
The Lebanese rolled to two consecutive triumphs to start the event [read more]
TAIPEI (2009 FIBA Asia Championship) If basketball fans in Tianjin, China, are wondering which three teams will reach the podium at the FIBA Asia Championship that tips off in the city on August 6, they have received interesting food for thought at the William Jones Cup in Taipei where Lebanon, Jordan and Korea have played well.
The Lebanese rolled to two consecutive triumphs to start the event.
Fadi El Khatib, the superstar of Lebanon basketball, poured in 32 points as the national side opened their account with a 93-61 drubbing of a Chinese Taipei B team.
Lebanon also recorded a 90-81 win over Japan.
Jordan, though, who are led by former Angola national team boss Mario Palma, brought Lebanon back down to earth in their meeting on Day Three, winning 73-63.
Zaid Abbas led the Jordanians with 17 points.
The Jordanians had gotten their tournament off to a flier with a 90-59 romp over the Philippines.
Korea have played well, winning their first three games and capping the perfect start with a 76-69 victory over defending Asian champions Iran.
The Philippines had a disappointing start to the competition. After their heavy defeat to Jordan, Yeng Guiaos men fell 86-77 to Chinese Taipei.
The Philippines did rebound by defeating Kazakhstan 85-67 in their third game.
Jones Cup Men Final Day - Iran wins 2009 Jones Cup title - Jul 26, 2009 (by Chris Wang)
Iran narrowly won the 2009 Jones Cup tournament title in a unprecedented and bizarre four-way tie.
First of all, sincere apology to one of the readers who left comment on a previous post. The Jones Cup did use total points to determine the final winner.
A total of four teams tied at the first place with 14 points, including three that finished 6-2 -- Iran, Lebanon and Taiwan -- and Jordan, who only got 14 points despite finishing 7-1 [read more]
Iran narrowly won the 2009 Jones Cup tournament title in a unprecedented and bizarre four-way tie.
First of all, sincere apology to one of the readers who left comment on a previous post. The Jones Cup did use total points to determine the final winner.
A total of four teams tied at the first place with 14 points, including three that finished 6-2 -- Iran, Lebanon and Taiwan -- and Jordan, who only got 14 points despite finishing 7-1. Jordan received no points after boycotting the Iran game.
(Note: The winning team gets two points while the losing team gets one point)
As a result, Jordan failed to win its third straight Jones Cup title and finished as runner-up. Lebanon placed third as it beat Taiwan, who ranked 4th.
Final placing: 1. Iran 6-2 2. Jordan 7-1 3. Lebanon 6-2 4. Taiwan 6-2 5. Korea 5-3 6. Philippines 2-6 7. Taiwan 2nd NT 2-6 8. Kazakhstan 1-7 9. Japan 1-7
Iran 85-60 Philippines
The game was delayed for more than a hour because of the clock problem, but that didn't stop Iran from humiliating Philippines. Iran routed Philippines by 25 points, 85-60, and finished the 2009 Jones Cup with 6 wins and 2 losses while Philippines going 2-6.
Hamed Hadadi, who was sidelined yesterday due to a bad stomach, had 19 points and 12 rebounds as Iran dominated with its height advantage and led by as many as a whopping 34 points.
'We didn't have answers against Iran's height advantage and our three-point shots did not fall. That was why we didn't have a chance, ' said Philippines head coach Yeng Guiao.
Hadadi said he still doesn't feel well today but he's made up his mind to play in the final game. 'I have sat out too many games here. If I don't play, this Taiwan trip would be meaningless for me, ' he said.
Taiwan 81-74 Korea
Cheered by the home crowd, Taiwan quickly jumped in front since the opening tip and took a 20-16 lead in the end of the first quarter. Taiwan led by six at the half.
Lin Chih-chieh made three 3-pointers in the third quarter to increase Taiwan's lead to double-digit while Korean starting center Kim Joo-sung was plagued by foul trouble.
With a seemingly comfortable lead, Taiwan became careless as they committed too many turnovers in the final quarter and gave Korea a chance. Lee Kyu-sup made two free-throws with 4:44 to play and cut the deficit to four, 67-63.
Lin Chih-chieh's fourth 3-pointer in the second half was the wake-up call, igniting a game-clinching 9-0 run which included a two-handed dunk by Tseng Wen-ting and made the score out of reach, 76-63, with two minutes left.
Chang Chih-feng led Taiwan with 21 points. Tseng Wen-ting and Lin Chih-chieh scored 17 apiece while Tien Lei had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Taiwan outrebounded Korea 35-25 and that proved to be the key. 'We grabbed more rebounds on both ends of the court and kept pounding inside on offense. Those were the main reasons why we won today, ' said head coach Chung Kwang-suk.
Korea was not at its full strength in the game as forward Kim Min-soo still suffered from illness and played less than 10 minutes.
In other games, Taiwan 2nd NT beat Japan 97-91. Japan used only five players in the game after losing some players to bad stomachs and others on injuries.
Jordan beat Kazakhstan 96-77. Zaid Abbas led Jordan with 23 points. Alexandr Tyutyunik had 26 points for Kazakhstan.
Jones Cup Men Day 8 - Freiji shines; Jordan favored to win it all - Jul 25, 2009 (by Chris Wang)
Lebanon 97-79 Korea
Matt Freiji had a tournament-high 39 points and 11 rebounds as Lebanon routed Korea 97-79 in a somewhat meaningless game.
Freiji made 14 of 20 shots, including 6-of-8 from three-point land. His performance and the vision of a Freiji-Faris-Feghali-Khatib frontline will boost Lebanon's confidence in the upcoming Asian Championship so much stronger [read more]
Lebanon 97-79 Korea
Matt Freiji had a tournament-high 39 points and 11 rebounds as Lebanon routed Korea 97-79 in a somewhat meaningless game.
Freiji made 14 of 20 shots, including 6-of-8 from three-point land. His performance and the vision of a Freiji-Faris-Feghali-Khatib frontline will boost Lebanon's confidence in the upcoming Asian Championship so much stronger.
I'm saying this game is somewhat meaningless is because many players sat out the game, including Korea's Kim Min-soo, Lee Dong-jun and Lebanon's Brian Feghali. They were all reported having bad stomachs.
I think these teams are playing tricks and being conservative in the Jones Cup because the Asian Championship in Tianjin is the real deal.
Standing Jordan 6-1 Iran 5-2 Korea 5-2 Taiwan 5-2 Lebanon 6-2 Philippines 2-5 Japan 1-6 Taiwan 2nd 1-6 Kazakhstan 1-6
Let's take a look at the standing now and break it down. The remaining games tomorrow are Jordan vs. Kazakhstan, Taiwan 2nd NT vs. Japan, Taiwan vs. Korea and Iran vs. Philippines.
Under normal circumstances, Jordan should have no problem beating Kazakhstan, which means it will win its third straight Jones Cup title with a 7-1 record while other teams have two losses at least.
If Jordan loses and Iran beat Philippines, things will be much complicated. Jordan will be tied at 6-2 with Iran, Lebanon and either Korea or Taiwan in a four-way tie.
The first tiebreaker will be the won-loss record of the matches between tying teams.
Situation 1: Jordan, Iran, Lebanon, Korea Jordan 2-1 Iran 2-1 Korea 1-2 Lebanon 1-2
In this case, Iran will be the champion because it defeated Jordan.
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