Bengaluru/Taipei, 24^th July 2017: The Indian men’s basketball team finished their campaign yesterday at the William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei with a 61-77 loss against the Japanese national team.

The Indian men were leading 30-28 going into halftime, but fell behind after a disappointing third quarter where they were outscored 28-15.

Amjyot Singh Gill led the scoring for India with 22 points, while Jeevanantham Pandi chipped in with 10 points. The Indian team was strong on the boards, out-rebounding the Japanese men 41-31, but only managed to hit one of thirteen from beyond the arc.

The Japanese offensive effort was led by Shuta Hara (15 points), and supported by Kengo Nomoto (14 points) and Shuto Ando (12 points).

The Indian men finished the tournament without a win, but these games have provided valuable minutes to the squad ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon next month. Head coach Phil Weber will be encouraged by the performances of the squad, particularly the young forwards – Muin Bek Hafeez, Jeevanantham Pandi, and Gurvinder Singh Gill.

Japan (Shuta Hara 15 pts; Kengo Nomoto 14 pts; Shuto Ando 12 pts) bt India (Amjyot Singh Gill 22 pts; Jeevanantham Pandi 10 pts) 77 – 61 [15 – 11, 13 – 19, 28 – 15, 21 – 16]

22^nd July: India lose to Philippines

On 22^nd July, the Indian men’s basketball team lost the penultimate game of the William Jones Cup 70-101 against the Philippines.

The men from the Philippines were on fire from beyond the arc, hitting 17 three-pointers on 47% shooting.  Mathew Andrew Wright was the top scorer for the Philippines (19 points), hitting 5 of 5 from three-point land.

Like so many games in this tournament, the Indian men were competitive in the early minutes of the game, but dropped off in the second quarter and were outscored 7-27.

The Indian team had a couple of strong performances, with Amjyot Singh scoring 25 points, and Jeevanantham Pandi notching up a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds). Overall, the shooting was a mixed bag: the team shot 60 percent from two-point range, but attempted as many as 30 three-pointers and hitting only 23%.

Philippines (Matthew Andrew Wright 19 pts; Von Rolfe Pessumal 14 pts; Almond Vosotros 14 pts) bt India (Amjyot Singh Gill 25 pts; Jeevanantham Pandi 14 pts, 10 rebs) 101 – 70 [27 – 24, 27 – 7, 26 – 24, 21 – 15]

About the William Jones Cup

The William Jones Cup is a basketball tournament that has been held annually in Taipei since 1977. The tournament was named in honour of Renato William Jones, who was one of the founders of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). One team represents each country, and that team could be the national team, a professional club, or a college team. The tournament is played in a single round-robin format, and the final points tally will determine the placing of the teams.

This is the 39^th edition of the tournament, and all the games were played at the Basketball Stadium of Heping Elementary School, Taipei City.

The William Jones Cup has served as excellent competitive exposure for India ahead of the FIBA Men’s Asia Cup to be held in Lebanon from 8^th to 20^th August 2017.

Last year, Philippines’ Mighty Sports club team took gold in the men’s tournament, while South Korea and Republic of China (i.e. Chinese Taipei) – Blue finished second and third respectively. India finished 1-7 in this edition.

List of participating teams

1. Canada 3D Global Sports
2. India National Team
3. Iran National Team
4. Iraq National Team
5. Japan National Team
6. Korea National Team
7. Lithuania Atletas Team
8. Philippines National Team
9. Chinese Taipei National Team A
10. Chinese Taipei National Team B

India’s full schedule

• 15^th July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus Iraq
• 16^th July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus South Korea
• 17^th July, 1900 hrs CST (or 1730 hrs IST)- versus Republic of China – Blue
• 18^th July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Iran
• 19^th July, 1300 hrs CST (or 1030 hrs IST)- versus Lithuania
• 20^th July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Republic of China – White
• 21^st July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus Canada
• 22^nd July, 1300 hrs CST (or 1030 hrs IST)- versus Philippines
• 23^rd July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Japan

INDIAN CONTINGENT FOR THE 39^TH WILLIAM JONES CUP

*PG – Point Guard / Feeder, G – Guard, F – Forward, G/F – Wing, PF – Power Forward, C – Centre, PF/C – Post