Bengaluru, 20th July 2017: On day six of the William Jones Cup, the Indian men’s basketball team lost 87-117 against Republic of China White, which is the Chinese Taipei National Team B.
The opposition dominated the first quarter and opened up a huge lead of 15 points. In the second quarter, the Indian men rediscovered their shooting form of the last few games and scored 31 points, but were unable to stop the Chinese offensive juggernaut.
The Indian team had four players scoring in double figures, led by Amjyot Singh Gill with 22 points. Muin Bek Hafeez impressed again, finishing with 13 points and hitting 3 of 5 shots from beyond the arc. Jeevanantham Pandi (10 points) and Anil Kumar (12 points) provided the offensive spark off the bench. Collectively, the team shot an impressive 60% from two-point range.
Eventually, the Indian men were outdone by the offensive production of the Chinese team, who had six players finish the game scoring in double figures. The Chinese Taipei men also racked up 18 steals which allowed them some easy points.
While the Indian team remains winless, these matches are vital for the young side, as the players have gained valuable minutes and will be looking to maintain this offensive form when they compete in the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon next month.
But for now, they will be focused on strengthening their defense when they take on Canada (represented by 3D Global Sports) on 21st July at 1100 hrs CST (0830 IST).
Republic of China White (Kyle Baron 18 pts; Yi-Jin Su 16 pts; Ying-Chun Chen 15 pts) bt India (Amjyot Singh Gill 22 pts; Muin Bek Hafeez 13 pts; Anil Kumar Gowda 12 pts) 117-87 [30-15, 36-31, 24-21, 27-20]
