Bahrain powered to their second successive victory yesterday in the 44th William Jones Cup, currently being held in Chinese Taipei.
The kingdom’s senior men’s national team outclassed the hosts’ national development squad 71-63 in their game played at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
The Bahrainis battled back from an early deficit and took control of the contest with a dominant second quarter. They then stretched their advantage after the break and led by as many as 15 points late on, which was enough to help lift them to the impressive win.
The result followed their 85-69 triumph against the Japanese national development team in their opening assignment on Saturday.
The Bahrainis still have six highly competitive games remaining in the competition, which features nine teams in all. Aside from the development teams of Japan and Chinese Taipei, also taking part are the national squads of Malaysia, the UAE, and Chinese Taipei, along with the Qatar B team, Australia United, and defending champions Strong Group Athletics from the Philippines.
The Bahrainis are back in action today against the Malaysians. That contest is scheduled for an 8am tip-off, Bahrain time.
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Sampson goes for an off-balance basket against Chinese Taipei yesterday
In their remaining fixtures, they go up against Australia United tomorrow, and then from Wednesday to the final day of action on Saturday, respectively, they play the UAE, Qatar’s B team, Chinese Taipei, and Strong Group Athletics.
In yesterday’s clash, Bahrain started strong but got stuck on 11 points as the home team came alive and ended the first period with a 25-17 advantage. But the nationals roared back in the second and were back in front at 28-27. An Ali Hussain step-back triple then made it 38-35 for the Bahrainis at the interval.
Things remained close in the third and Bahrain headed into the final canto with a slim 49-46 edge. Then, after Chinese Taipei tied the game at 51-all, the Bahrainis went on a game-changing 19-4 run, capped by a Mustafa Hussain three-pointer with two-and-a-half minutes remaining, for a commanding cushion.
The young hosts tried to make one last rally and were able to get to within seven points, but came no closer and Mohammed Buallay pegged the final score from the charity stripe.
JaKarr Sampson top scored for the Bahrainis with 28 points while also taking down 14 rebounds and blocking three shots. Mustafa Hussain added 18 markers while Buallay chipped in with six, Wayne Chism and Ali Hussain five, and Ali Jaber four points. Subah Hussain rounded out Bahrain’s scorers with three.
Chen Jiangshuang was Chinese Taipei’s lone player in double figures with 10 points.
This year’s William Jones Cup is being held until Sunday. The nationals are coached by Greek tactician Georgios Vovoras, who is making his debut on the sidelines with the kingdom’s national team.
The William Jones Cup is one of the most renowned and popular international basketball tournaments in Asia. Bahrain are competing in the event for the second time in its history, following their debut over four decades ago in the 1978 edition.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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