William Jones Cup for Men Day 1- India shoot well against Iraq

• The Indian men’s basketball team lost to Iraq 68-86 on the first day of the William Jones Cup, but there were some positives to take heart from.

• Power forward Amjyot Singh Gill put in another standout performance, continuing his good form from the BRICS Games, with 22 points and 6 rebounds.

• Collectively, the Indian team’s shooting from beyond the arc was also very impressive, making 12 three pointers at a 55% conversion rate.

• Next up, the Indian men play South Korea on 16^th July at 1100 hrs CST (0830 IST).

Indian men vs Iraq. Image credits: Basketball Federation of India Bengaluru, 15^th July 2017:  The Indian men’s basketball team lost to Iraq’s National Team 68-86 on the first day of the William Jones Cup for Men, but there were many positives to draw from the performance. The Indians raced to an early lead after the end of the first quarter, but relinquished it after being outscored 28-13 in the second quarter. Forward Amjyot Singh Gill continued his good form from the BRICS Games, with 22 points and 6 rebounds. He was also money from downtown making 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. There were also enthusing displays from youngsters Gurvinder Singh Gill (10 points and 5 rebounds) and Ambati Prudhvishwar Reddy (11 points and 4 assists). Collectively, the Indian team’s shooting from three point range was very impressive, as they made 12 three pointers on a 55% conversion rate. India though will need to work on reducing its turnovers (33) as it takes on South Korea’s National Team on 16^th July at 1100 hrs CST (0830 IST). Iraq (Demaro Aquan Mayfield 19 pts, Ali Hamad 17 pts, Omar Alazawi 15 pts) bt India (Amjyot Singh Gill 22 pts, Ambati Prudhvishwar Reddy 11 pts, Gurvinder Singh Gill 10 pts) 86–68 [11-19, 28-13, 32-24, 15-12]  

About the William Jones Cup for Men

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

10. Chinese Taipei National Team B

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, 1700 hrs CST (or 1430 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 FOR MEN

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