TPE - Philippines off and running
NEW TAIPEI CITY (2011 FIBA Asia Championship) - The Philippines have infused their supporters back home with a lot of optimism after snatching a couple of victories at the William Jones Cup. Rajko Toroman, the man who led Iran to glory at the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship to qualify the team for the Olympics, is now the boss of the Philippines and his side ...
NEW TAIPEI CITY (2011 FIBA Asia Championship) - The Philippines have infused their supporters back home with a lot of optimism after snatching a couple of victories at the William Jones Cup.
Rajko Toroman, the man who led Iran to glory at the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship to qualify the team for the Olympics, is now the boss of the Philippines and his side clinched a 73-59 win against his old squad.
"We know we are good and we proved it on the court," Toroman said.
"Our defense was great. It will give the players confidence after facing the toughest defense in this tournament.
"This win showed that we could compete against anybody in Asia."
Naturalized big man Marcus Douthit was particularly impressive in his clash with Hamed Haddadi of Iran.
The center had 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Haddadi also put up big numbers, finishing with 25 points and nine boards.
"Marcus played great defense and did a lot of good things," Toroman said.
The Philippines followed up that triumph with a 90-78 victory over Chinese Taipei. Douthit, who played at Providence College, had 23 points and nine rebounds.
Iran followed up their setback with a 77-58 romp against Japan, getting 12 points from veteran guard Javad Davari.
The Iranians outscored Japan 22-13 in the opening quarter and used that strong start as a platform for victory.
Japan bounced back and beat the United Arab Emirates 92-85 for their first victory in three games.
Yusuke Okada provided much of the inspiration for the Japanese with 33 points.
The UAE slumped to 0-3 with the defeat.
Jordan may have been pummeled by Ukraine, Cyprus and Estonia at the end of July but they have had a fast start in the William Jones Cup, beating UAE and Malaysia.
In the victory over the Malaysians, veteran Zaid Abbas had 21 points and seven boards.
Jordan won the bronze medal at the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship and played at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.
Korea have also won two games at the William Jones Cup, beating Malaysia and the UAE.
FIBA