Date: August 6 – 13, 2011

Host: Chinese-Taipei

Rank          Team

1                I.R. Iran

2                South Korea

3                Philippines

4                Chinese – Taipei

5                Japan

6                Jordan

7                Malaysia

8                United Arab Emirates

Date: July 14-20, 2010

Host: Chinese-Taipei

Rank          Team

1                 I.R. Iran National Team

2                 Lebanon National Team

3                 Japan National Team

4                 Philippines National Team

5                 Chinese-Taipei National Team

6                 Chinese-Taipei University All-Stars

7                 Townsville Crocodiles (Australia)

1. Japan and Chinese-Taipei national teams can match the speed and quickness of the Philippine national team. That’s the reason the Japanese were able to hold off the Filipinos in Day 6 of the tournament, 84-74. Chinese-Taipei, likewise, pushed the Filipinos to the brink with its cat-quick reflexes among their players. Philippines edged out Chinese-Taipei,96-93 though.
2. Iran cemented its status as a powerhouse in Asia. Winning the title in this tournament in succession plus their two consecutive crowns in FIBA-Asia championship prove to be enough to be considered at par with China. Iran is loaded with quality guards that can catch the quickness of East Asians. It has reliable wingmen that can break-off zone defense and more importantly, Iran has frontline that control the shaded lane. They are truly reaping the fruits of Rajko Toroman’s labor who guided their basketball program a few years back.
3. Spotty officiating was a major issue throughout the tournament. It was at its worst during the first half of the Lebanon-Philippines game where Lebanon’s Ghaleb Reda intentionally elbowed Filipino Marcio Lassiter’s head right before the very eyes of the two referees. Lassiter went down the floor and the two referees did not bother to blow their whistles. They must have swallowed their whistles in that particular moment. I wish the organizers should try to improve the officiating so as not to lose participants in this tourney. Remember last year between Iran and Jordan? That’s the reason behind Jordan national team did not participate anymore in this year’s edition.

1. Iran has proven its maturity as a team. They beat the Philippines 81-68 on its first game and Japan 77-73 on the second game. What makes their two wins special is the fact that they did it without three national mainstays Hamed Haddadi, Javad Davari and Hamed Afagh. Probably those three can make a difference.
2. Japan is for real. After a disappointing decade in the international basketball, it seems that they are as serious as most of the elite teams in Asia. Though they lost twice already, those twin losses were close enough. They led most of the way against Lebanon until they ran out of gas and lost 82-87. Against Iran, the Japanese were just beaten by 4 points, 73-77. It seems that they are dead serious in trying to reclaim the respect the other countries had with them before.
3. Smart Gilas has shown its vast improvement with a healthy line-up and a naturalized prospect. It’s just a matter of time that this team reaches its peak. They lost to Iran by 13 points but I can see their progress as a team.

I’ll be posting my thoughts as the tournament progresses.

It took me more than half day last weekend watching the replays of the games played by Team Pilipinas in the 31^st William Jones Cup thru Justin.tv. I wanted to delve more on the performance of RP team in the tournament as they are about to wrap up the preparations for the FIBA-Asia Championships in Tianjin, China starting August 6. I’m a bit disappointed with the results considering RP team has just won 2 games.  But I’m still optimistic Team Pilipinas will fare better in the Asian qualifier.

Even with the dismal performance of Team Pilipinas in the Jones Cup, I’m still positive that they will bounce back come August 6 for the FIBA-Asia championships.

Photo Courtesy: PBA.com.ph

It’s Day 7 of the 31^st William Jones cup and the Powerade Team Pilipinas is taking a day off. So far in the tournament, RP 5 has only a win to show with 5 setbacks with two games left against Iran and Taiwan B this weekend.  The best record RP team can have in this tournament is 3-5 win-loss mark assuming the Filipinos can sweep the last two outings. Our previous RP team wound up 5-3 record back in 2007.

I agree with Jong Uichico, Coach Yeng Guiao’s Chief Scout for Team Pilipinas, that there’s no need to panic given the team’s lackluster performance in the Jones Cup. Remember this tournament is just a tune up for the bigger task in Tianjin.

Looking at the brighter side, Team Pilipinas has shown its unpredictability in offense.  Remember, only Arwind Santos has scored more than 20 points in one game so far in 6 games and that was against South Korea.  That means to say that the scoring is widely spread among the players. This will keep the opponents guessing on who they are going to watch out for.

With only two games left on the Jones Cup Calendar, I hope Team Pilipinas can sweep the remaining assignments.

Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Zaid Alkhas

I’m just one of the basketball enthusiasts who always remember Michael Jordan leading the Chicago Bulls in a couple of ‘three-peats’ in the NBA (1991-93, 1996-98). This time, however, it will be the men’s basketball team of Jordan who would like to do their own ‘three-peat’ at the William Jones Cup on July 18-26, 2009 in Taipei, Taiwan. This tournament was named after Renato William Jones, one of the pillars of FIBA.

In 2007, Jordan, which has been mentored by Portuguese Mario Palma since late 2006, won the championship for the first time in history of Jordanian basketball. They did the same feat last year. Now, they have a rare opportunity to make it three in row.

Jordan, led by Zaid Alkhas will try to use their height and heft to their advantage. I have observed that since Mario Palma took over as head coach, Jordan has become formidable. I couldn’t forget how our national team in 2007, then known as SMC-Pilipinas and coached by Chot Reyes, lost on two occasions against Jordan. The first was in Jones Cup, a 70-74 close decision and the 76-84 heartbreaking loss at the FIBA-Asia Championships where the Philippines was virtually eliminated from grabbing an Olympic berth.