Indian men falter against powerhouse Iran at the 39th William Jones Cup Invitational
On day four of the William Jones Cup, the Indian men’s basketball team lost 44-88 to Iran’s national team.
India had fewer turnovers than Iran, but were outrebounded 51-26.
Forward Prasanna Venkatesh Sivakumar posted 12 points and 6 rebounds.
Next up, the Indian men play Lithuania on 19th July at 1300 hrs CST (1030 IST).

File photo: Indian men vs Iraq 39th William Jones Cup Invitational. Image credits: Basketball Federation of India Bengaluru, 18th July 2017: The Indian men’s basketball team suffered a tough loss against Iran’s national team on Day 4 of the William Jones Cup. Iran took the lead early in the first quarter and never relinquished it en route to an 88-44 victory. India had fewer turnovers than their opponents, but were out-rebounded 51-26. In contrast, the men from Iran were red hot from the field, shooting at a high 60%. They were led in scoring by Navid Khajehzadeh, who came off the bench to drop 21 points. For India, the silver lining was a good performance from forward Prasanna Venkatesh Sivakumar, who had 12 points and 6 rebounds. The Indian men will be hoping for a turnaround when they take the court against Lithuania on 19th July at 1300 hrs CST (1030 IST). Iran (Navid Khajehzadeh 21 pts; Navid Rezaeifar 19 pts; Sajjad Pazrofteh 16 pts) bt India (Prasanna Venkatesh Sivakumar 12 pts, 6 rebs; Amjyot Singh Gill 8 pts, 6 ast) 88-44 [14-8, 23-12, 22-14, 29-10]
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 39th 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 8th to 20th 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
Canada 3D Global Sports
India National Team
Iran National Team
Iraq National Team
Japan National Team
Korea National Team
Lithuania Atletas Team
Philippines National Team
Chinese Taipei National Team A
Chinese Taipei National Team B
India’s full schedule
15th July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus Iraq
16th July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus South Korea
17th July, 1900 hrs CST (or 1730 hrs IST)- versus Republic of China – Blue
18th July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Iran
19th July, 1300 hrs CST (or 1030 hrs IST)- versus Lithuania
20th July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Republic of China – White
21st July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus Canada
22nd July, 1300 hrs CST (or 1030 hrs IST)- versus Philippines
23rd July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Japan
Official website: www.jonescup.choxue.com/
INDIAN CONTINGENT FOR THE 39TH 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 PrasannaVenkatesh SIVAKUMAR SF 25/09/92 Tamil Nadu/IOB 12 MuinBek 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 SanthoshDivaker 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