Japan Match-Up Brings Canada's William Jones Cup to a Close
Going into their final game with a 1-6 record, Canada would have been thankful their 2019 William Jones Cup campaign was coming to an end.
They had been out-performed throughout, their win over Jordan the only compensation, but still had Japan to take care of in the final round-robin match-up.
To begin with it looked like Canada were going to go out on a high, leading Japan by eleven at the end of the first quarter, with Grant Audu seemingly doing it all for the team and leading the stat sheets. He unfortunately could not keep his form up, though he would finish the game with eleven points.
Japan came back to the courts with new vigour and energy when the game resumed, cutting down their deficit with a full-on offensive blitz. Their play in the low post in the third quarter saw them re-take the lead, which they went on to cement in the final period of play.
Grant Shepherd was once again giving his all to try and lift Canada, he would finish as the lead scorer (22 points), while Mason Boucrier recorded his second straight double-double (18 points, 14 assists). The Canadian team could not do anything to end the tournament on a high, though. Japan get the final victory, 87-78, with Kai Toews leading the scoring for the victors with 18 points.
The biggest news of the day, though, was that Mighty Sports-Philippines end the tournament undefeated with a ten-point win over Chinese Taipei White - at the same time clinching the 2019 William Jones Cup title. This makes the sixth time a team from the country has seen victory in the tournament, the last being in 2016.
There would be further disappointment for home fans as Korea defeat Chinese Taipei Blue 70-64, despite Cheng Liu's game-high 21 points eclipsing the 20 scored by Guna Ra for Korea. This win sees the Korean team finish second overall, while Iran close out the competition on a high with a dominant win over Indonesia, 95 points to 53.
The Canadian team and Indonesia both finish on the same record, but Indonesia's win over Canada sees them place higher in the final rankings. In the end it was a disappointing tournament for the Canadian team, but they came up against tough competition in Taiwan. Full details and statistics on all games in the William Jones Cup can be found on the official website.
