The Philippine Online Chronicles

A weary Philippine team struggled against an experienced Jordan team that had better preparation and fresher legs.

Playing for the third straight day and facing another quality opponent, the Filipinos

succumbed to the Middle East powerhouse, 72-76, in the third day of the 33^rd edition of the William Jones Cup tournament held in Taiwan.

The loss is the first for the Philippines, while Jordan remains unbeaten after dominating Malaysia and UAE in their first two games.

Ali Jamal Zaghab, who plays backup center for Jordan, dominated Marcus Douthit in the middle by scoring 17 points while plucking down eight boards. Douthit, the Philippines’ center, managed only to score 10 points after pouring in 23 and 24 in the first two games.

Jordan gambled by playing the zone defense, which clogged the lanes while putting different players on Douthit. They also made sure that his shots were challenged all the time.

With Douthit struggling offensively, point guard Mark Barroca led the Filipinos with 13 points while Mac Baracael and Fil-Am Chris Lutz scored 10 points apiece.

For Jordan, veteran point guard Osama Daghles contributed 16 points while forward Zaid Abbaas and naturalized player Rasheim Wright scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.

With just under two minutes to go and with the Jordanians ahead by seven points, point guard JV Casio nailed two clutch threes to cut the deficit to one.

The Philippines had a chance to take the lead, but forward Marcio Lassiter made two crucial miscues, which eventually led to the team’s downfall. Daghles nailed two important free throws to finally put the game away.

Meanwhile, Rajko Toroman, the Philippines’ Serbian mentor, complained that referee Yuen Chun Yip of Hongkong has been extremely biased with his officiating against the Philippines.

Toroman, who used to coach the Iranian national team that played in the 2008 Olympics, threatened that his team will pull out of the competition if Yuen officiates in their future games.

Toroman claimed that Yuen has been making bad calls since the Philippines’ game against Taiwan, where the host country went to the free throw line 31 times.

The Philippines will be having a little bit of a break after playing three tough teams when they face Malaysia later today. After that, they will face East Asian powerhouse South Korea on Thursday. The Filipinos need to win as many games as possible in order to make it to the semifinals, where four teams will clash for two spots in the finals.

Taiwan 104, Malaysia 54

After getting a beating from the Philippines, Taiwan got back on the winning track by routing Malaysia, 104-54, in the third day of action in the 2011 Jones Cup.

Shooting guard Tsung-Hsien Chang led the Taiwanese with 21 points while forwards Yi-Hsiang Chou and Li Wei Chee chipped in 15 points apiece.

Taiwan immediately stepped on the gas to prevent the Malaysians from believing that they had a chance to win. The hosts built a 23-point lead in the first quarter, never looking back, to cruise to an easy victory.

In the second quarter, Taiwan pounded Malaysia further by building a 30-point bulge. Things got even worse for Malaysia in the third when Taiwan increased the lead to 44 points.

With the win, Taiwan takes their second win of the tournament and they will be facing the undefeated Jordan later today.

Japan B 92, UAE 85

In the battle of two winless teams, Japan came out on top over UAE to finally barge into the winning column. Guard Yusuke Okada waxed hot from the perimeter by scoring 33 points to lead the Japanese charge against UAE. Japan overcame a tough stand from UAE with a 92-85 win.

Aside from Okada, Keijuro Matsui chipped in 18 points while center Gaku Arao chipped in 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Japan took a seven-point lead after the first ten minutes of action, 21-14. In the second period, UAE clamped down on defense and with their offense finally clicking, they took a 39-38 lead heading into the second half.

Surprised with the toughness and grit that UAE showed in the first half, the Japanese doubled their efforts in the second half, scoring 36 points in the third quarter.

In the final period, UAE ran out of gas and the Japanese hit the shots to finally notch their first victory in the tournament.

South Korea 77, Iran 59

After a stunning loss against the Philippines in the first day of this year’s Jones Cup, reigning Asian champions Iran took their second defeat in the tournament.

This time around, it was South Korea that gave the blow to the Iranians. Korean-American Stevenson Cameron scored 27 points and hauled down seven rebounds to lead the Koreans past Iran, 77-59.

Apart from Cameron, shooting guard Yang Dong-Geun added 15 points and forward Kang Byung-Hyun chipped in 12 points for South Korea, who remain undefeated in the tournament.

The Iranians took a two-point lead at the end of the first period, but the Koreans turned things around in the second quarter by limiting the Asian champions to just seven points. South Korea took a 31-28 lead going into the second half.

Behind their vaunted drive-and-kick plays, South Korea made a couple of shots from beyond the three-point line, which enabled them to build a 10-point lead going into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Koreans scored 24 points while Iran managed to put up just 16 points.

For Iran, Hamed Haddadi of the Memphis Grizzlies led the charge with 15 points while veteran point guard Mahdi Kamrani contributed nine.