TIGHT TITLE RACE:Taiwan Blue handed Canada their first defeat of the tournament as five teams topped the standings with three wins and one loss after four games
Taipei Times
Date: Jul 19, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter
Taiwan Blue yesterday prevailed over Canada 89-86 in an exciting seesaw battle whose
Taiwan White’s Kyle Barone, center, goes to the basket against Iraq in their Jones Cup game in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
outcome was in doubt until the final moments, with captain Liu Cheng and forward Lu Cheng-ju making clutch shots to win the game and send the packed crowd into celebration at the William Jones Cup in Taipei.
In the dying seconds, Lu drained a three-pointer from the left side and Liu made two free throws, followed by Canada shooting guard Garrett Williamson missing both of his free throws, leaving Canada unable to level the score with another missed shot before the buzzer.
“It was a great result for us, because Canada are a very tough team and they were undefeated before this game. I also want to thank the fans, who were really into the game with boisterous support for us. They gave our team the home-court advantage for the win tonight,” Liu said after the game.
With the loss, Canada, led by head coach Kyle Julius, remained on top of table, but had to share first place with Taiwan Blue, Lithuania, South Korea and the Philippines.
Earlier, Taiwan White put on a solid display to get past Iraq 87-79, while Iran routed India 88-44. [FULL STORY]
