Canada Taken to OT by William Jones Cup Hosts
It was the second time Canada had faced a home team in this year's William Jones Cup, and they were looking not to make the same mistakes they had before and get their first win of the tournament on the board.
Their Day Three opponents, Chinese Taipei Blue, made it evident early on they did not want to let their home support down, making Canada fight tooth and nail to try and get the victory at the Changhua Stadium.
Both teams could not be separated after ten minutes, the first quarter ending 25 points apiece. In Q2, Chinese Taipei Blue picked the right spots on the floor to shoot from, which lifted them above their challengers and gave them a five-point lead at the half.
Canada's superior outside shooting - they got thirteen threes to drop in this game - prevented Chinese Taipei Blue from getting away, and in the fourth quarter they made a move for the win, led by Grant Shepherd, whose accuracy from the field saw him lead the scoring for Canada with 19 points.
Playing high percentage basketball and smart offence, Canada were able to chase down the host team, but could not do enough to put the game to bed in regulation time. The game went to overtime, but with Chou Yi-Hsiang keeping up the pressure on offence for Chinese Taipei Blue, a three point buffer would be enough to see out the win 102 points to 99.
Hu Lung-Mao led the scoring in Chinese Taipei Blue's victory with an outstanding 35 points, while his team mates Chou and Liu Cheng also impressed in the game with 22 and 20 points respectively.
Behind Shepherd, Jonah Morrison, Mason Bourcier, Manroop Clair, Grant Adu and Taylor Browne all finished scoring in double digits for the Canadian team, but even though it was their highest scoring game and biggest offensive effort yet, it wasn't enough to end their competition drought.
Meanwhile, Jordan put on a dominant display over Indonesia, winning their first game of the tournament by a margin of 79 points to 51, with Hashem Abbas recording a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Korea stay perfect after a tight encounter with Iran, which they won 83-79, while Mighty Sports-Philippines continued their dominance with a 94-59 routing of Japan, with Renaldo Balkman scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The bad news for Canada is the Filipino team are their next opponents.
There's still a long way to go in the tournament, but the longer it takes for Canada to turn it around, the harder it will be for them to protect their title. Check back here for daily updates on their William Jones Cup progress, while full details of the tournament and all games can be found on the official website.
Picture: Oliverchronicle.com
