Philippines-Mighty Sports cruised to their third straight victory after trouncing USA-Sacramento State University, 88-69, in the 38th William Jones Cup Tuesday night in Taiwan.
From a tight 11-10 affair, the Americans made a 10-4 run anchored by Jeff Wu’s streak shooting to be in command, 21-14, with less than four minutes in the first quarter. The Philippines, however, responded with a 9-2 run behind Dewarick Spencer, Hamady N’Diaye, and Al Thornton, to end the first ten minutes of the game at 23-all.
The second frame saw Mighty Sports regain their bearings at both ends. From a slim, 29-28 deficit with less than seven minutes on the clock, the Philippines left USA in the dust by sprinting to a 26-6 scoring blitz courtesy of Thornton, Mike Singletary, Jason Brickman, and Vernon Macklin, to close out the first half with a commanding 19-point lead, 54-35.
The 19-point lead later on became 23, as Mighty Sports scored six straight to make it 60-37 with 7:05 in the third canto. USA’s paced slowed down, as their usual drives to the basket were neutralized with N’Diaye’s presence inside. The Americans, however, capped off the quarter well with six unanswered points that made it 69-50.
It was all Philippines in the final frame, as their excellent showing on both ends of the floor allowed them to post the game’s widest gap at 29, 87-58, with less than three minutes remaining. The Americans pulled off an 11-0 run late in the quarter to trim the deficit down to 18, 87-69, but time was not on their side, as Larry Rodriguez split his charities to seal the 19-point victory.
Dewarick Spencer paced the Philippines with 14 points. Three players — Macklin, Thornton, and Zach Graham — chipped in 12 markers apiece. N’Diaye, who was USA’s nightmare in the paint, had nine points and eight blocks.
Mighty Sports (3-0) will have Japan as their next opponent tomorrow, July 27, at 5:00PM.
Quarterscores: 23-23, 54-35, 69-50, 88-69
