Canada End Drought at the William Jones Cup
After their first six games in Taiwan ended in disappointment, Canada have finally broken their run of bad luck at the William Jones Cup.
Their hopes of retaining the title for a third time now long gone, the priority was damage limitation for the UBC Thunderbirds team representing Canada. There were only two chances remaining to pick up a win, the first came on Saturday against Jordan.
It didn't look good as the Canadian team ended the first quarter down by ten points, with Yousef Abu Wazaneh leading Jordan's field shooting. It was in the second quarter when they came to life - with Patrick Simon leading the scoring for Canada, they turned the deficit around, outscoring their opponents 33 to 18 in the period and ending the first half ahead by four points.
Jordan hit back when the game resumed, with Wazaneh leading the defensive effort which limited Canada's chances, as well and putting up the most points on offence. Jordan led by two points going into the deciding final period.
With the game on the line, Canada found the better scoring chances in the paint and show the greater team unity. A late surge on offence from Grant Shepherd lifted the Canadian team to a much-needed win, albeit by a slim margin of 83 points to 79 at the final buzzer.
Shepherd once again led the scoring for Canada with 22 points, while the team also saw double-doubles from Patrick Simon (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Mason Boucrier (13 points, 11 assists). Yousef Abu Wazaneh and Ibrahim Fadi both had 17 points for Jordan in the loss, with Wazaneh also finishing with eleven rebounds.
While Canada celebrated their first win, their final opponents, Japan, would soon be jubilant as well. After a stilted start to the game against Iran, they dominated in the low post and kept up their momentum to run out to a 74-51 victory. This lifted Japan to a 5-2 record, while keeping Iran leaning on losses in the table.
It was another mixed day for home fans - first the Chinese Taipei White team overcame a nine-point deficit in the first half against Indonesia to go on to capture the win after a rampant showing in the second half. Final score here was 97-76.
It was the opposite for Chinese Taipei Blue, though, as they were dominated by Mighty Sports-Philippines. In control of proceedings, the Filipino team took down the home team 97-74, and are now just one win away from finishing with a perfect record.
Canada can rest assured knowing they at least have a win to show for themselves, but a final win against Japan will lift them out of last place. After Japan's performances so far, this won't be an easy task, though. Check back here for the results of the final day or head over to the official William Jones Cup website for full details.
Picture: Wilson Wong
