Amjyot Singh shines against Lithuania on day 5 of the 39th William Jones Cup Invitational

• On day five of the 39th William Jones Cup Invitational, the Indian men’s basketball team lost 79-102 against the Lithuania Atletas club team.

• Amjyot Singh Gill was the star for India: he scored 28 points, hitting seven of 10 shots from two-point range and shooting at 44% from beyond the arc.

• Young forward Muin Bek Hafeez had another strong outing, falling just short of a double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds.

• Significantly, India’s bench combined to score 30 points.

• Next up, the Indian men play Republic of China-White (Chinese Taipei National Team ‘B’) on 20^th July at 1500 hrs CST (1230 IST).

File photo: Indian men vs Iraq at the 39th William Jones Cup Invitational. Image credits: Basketball Federation of India Bengaluru, 19^th July 2017:  India’s William Jones campaign continued on Day 5 against the Lithuania Atletas club team. The Indian men’s basketball team found its shooting touch early. They were quick out of the blocks, building up a 26-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the Lithuanians clawed their way back in the second quarter, taking a six point lead into halftime. Even though the Indians continued to shoot the ball well, the Lithuanians were better, eventually winning the game 102-79. Despite the loss, there were positives all round for India. After a quiet couple of games, Amjyot Singh Gill was the star for India with 28 points. He was on fire from the field, hitting seven of ten shots from two-point range and shooting at 44% from beyond the arc. Young forward Muin Bek Hafeez had another strong outing, falling just short of a double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds. Significantly, India’s bench combined to score 30 points. For Lithuania, five players finished with scores in double figures, led by Žygimantas Jocys (21 points) and Domantas Šeškus (20 points). After today’s performance, the Indian men will be focused on notching up their first win of the tournament when they play Republic of China-White (Chinese Taipei National Team ‘B’) on 20^th July at 1500 hrs CST (1230 IST).   Lithuania (Žygimantas Jocys 21 pts; Domantas Šeškus 20 pts; Vaidotas Volkus 14 pts) bt India (Amjyot Singh Gill 28 pts, 6 rebs; Rikin Pethani 9 pts; Muin Bek Hafeez 8 pts, 10 rebs) 102-79 [17-26, 32-17, 24-14, 29-22]

About the William Jones Cup

The William Jones Cup is a basketball tournament that has been held annually in Taipei since 1977. The tournament was named in honour of Renato William Jones, who was one of the founders of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). One team represents each country, and that team could be the national team, a professional club, or a college team. The tournament will be played in a single round-robin format, and the final points tally will determine the placing of the teams. This is the 39^th edition of the tournament, and all the games will be played at the Basketball Stadium of Heping Elementary School, Taipei City. The William Jones Cup will serve as excellent competitive exposure for India ahead of the FIBA Men’s Asia Cup to be held in Lebanon from 8^th to 20^th August 2017. Last year, Phillipines’ Mighty Sports club team took gold in the men’s tournament, while South Korea and Republic of China (i.e. Chinese Taipei) - Blue finished second and third respectively. India finished 1-7 in this edition.

List of participating teams

1. Canada 3D Global Sports

2. India National Team

3. Iran National Team

4. Iraq National Team

5. Japan National Team

6. Korea National Team

7. Lithuania Atletas Team

8. Philippines National Team

9. Chinese Taipei National Team A (aka ‘Republic of China-Blue’)

10. Chinese Taipei National Team B (aka ‘Republic of China-White’)

India’s full schedule

• 15^th July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus Iraq

• 16^th July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus South Korea

• 17^th July, 1900 hrs CST (or 1730 hrs IST)- versus Republic of China – Blue

• 18^th July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Iran

• 19^th July, 1300 hrs CST (or 1030 hrs IST)- versus Lithuania

• 20^th July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Republic of China – White

• 21^st July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus Canada

• 22^nd July, 1300 hrs CST (or 1030 hrs IST)- versus Philippines

• 23^rd July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Japan

Official website: www.jonescup.choxue.com  

INDIAN CONTINGENT FOR THE 39^TH WILLIAM JONES CUP

Sr. No. First Name Middle and Last Name Position DOB State/Unit 1 Ambati PRUDHVISHWAR REDDY PG 02/10/96 Telangana 2 Anil Kumar BUKANKERE KRISHNE GOWDA SG 31/07/89 Karnataka/Vijaya Bank 3 Arjun SINGH G 08/06/92 Uttarakhand/ONGC 4 Pratham SINGH SG 01/10/91 Tamil Nadu/IOB 5 Basil PHILIP SG 10/01/91 Kerala/Customs & Central Excise 6 Jeevanantham PANDI PF/C 13/10/94 Tamil Nadu/IOB 7 Rikin PETHANI C 02/12/90 Tamil Nadu/Income Tax 8 Amjyot Singh GILL PF 27/01/92 Punjab 9 Baladhaneshwar POIYAMOZHI PG 07/12/92 Tamil Nadu 10 Gurvinder Singh GILL PF/C 21/01/96 Punjab 11 Prasanna Venkatesh SIVAKUMAR SF 25/09/92 Tamil Nadu/IOB 12 Muin Bek HAFEEZ SF 28/01/91 Tamil Nadu Support Staff 13 Baskar SAPPANIAMBALAM Coach 20/07/66 Tamil Nadu 14 Padipurakkal Joseph SEBASTIAN Coach 21/05/67 Kerala 15 Devender KUMAR Manager 04/07/56 Delhi 16 Raj Kumar DUBEY Physiotherapist 01/06/68 Uttarakhand/ONGC 17 Peter Santhosh Divaker PEREJI Referee 03/07/73 Telangana

*PG - Point Guard / Feeder, G - Guard, F - Forward, G/F - Wing, PF - Power Forward, C - Centre, PF/C - Post