32nd Jones Cup tidbits – Part I

July 17, 2010 | Posted by Benjie

It’s Day 4 of the 32^nd William Jones Cup in Taipei and so far we have witnessed how some of the elite teams in Asia play against each other. As of the moment of this posting, Middle Eastern powerhouse teams Iran and Lebanon are still playing. Smart Gilas-Pilipinas are taking a day off after a 2-1 start. Here are my thoughts on the first three days of the tournament:

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.
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.
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.