July 11, 2006
Taipei City, Taiwan – Using a strong third quarter to pull away, the Qatar national team defeated Athletes in Action 83-77 on day four of the William Jones Cup at the Taipei Physical Education College Gym. Neither team held a lead of more then four points until two free throws put Qatar up six with 6:30 remaining in the third period. The lead ballooned to as many as 17 points, but Qatar never could put it away.
Luke Zeller finished with three blocked shots and three rebounds in the loss.
Dominique Kirk of Texas A&M lead the comeback in the fourth quarter that brought AIA to within 5 points on several occasions, but shooting woes wouldn’t allow for the complete turnaround. Kirk finished with 17 points and 5 rebounds while A&M teammate Josh Carter added 14 points and 11 boards.
“We didn’t get enough rebounds,” Kirk said. “We didn’t execute enough against a great team.” Qatar is in preparation for the World Cup of basketball to be held in Japan later this year and is also hosting the Asian games in December. This team, coached by former University of New Orleans head coach Joey Stiebing, will represent Qatar on the international stage in each of these tournaments.
“We need more games against teams like this [AIA],” said Stiebing. “It will help prepare us for what we will see later this year.”
AIA Head Coach Mike Jarvis added, “They did what they needed to do to win the game. They made shots, they got rebounds when they needed to. They, basically, were the best team tonight.”
Former New Mexico standout Troy DeVries added 13 points, but struggled from behind the arc with only 3 of 12 shooting. Tony Danridge poured in 12 points, most of which camein the second half run. Christian Moody had two blocks on the night, including one that lead to a fast break lay-up to bring the game within five points.
Athletes in Action will have a chance to rebound against Japan at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Note: Game recap provided by Peter Warden who is traveling with the Athletes In Action team.
William Jones Cup Standings
Qatar 4-0
AIA 3-1
Korea 3-1
Australia 2-2
Taiwan 2-2
Kazakhstan 1-3
Philippines 1-3
Japan 0-4
Day four Scores (Tuesday)
Korea 127, Japan 85
Philippines 76, Australia 67
Qatar 83, AIA 77
Kazakhstan 88, Taiwan 85
Day five Schedule (Wednesday)
USA vs. Japan 1PM
Kazakhstan vs. Philippines 3PM
Korea vs. Qatar 5PM
Taiwan vs. Australia 7PM