The third day of the William Jones Cup featured some excellent individual performances, a few teams that began to separate themselves from the pack and several tight contests.
Let's break down the action and updated standings from a busy Monday.
Standings
| Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| Iran | 3 | 3 | 0 | 243 | 170 | +73 | 6 |
| Russia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 268 | 243 | +25 | 6 |
| South Korea | 3 | 1 | 2 | 130 | 163 | −33 | 4 |
| New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 1 | 196 | 183 | +13 | 3 |
| Gilas Pilipinas | 2 | 1 | 1 | 147 | 149 | −2 | 3 |
| United States | 2 | 1 | 1 | 156 | 160 | −4 | 3 |
| Chinese Taipei A (Blue) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 153 | 159 | −6 | 3 |
| Japan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 215 | 253 | −38 | 3 |
| Chinese Taipei B (White) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 151 | 190 | −39 | 2 |
Russia Beats New Zealand, 98-94
Russia remained undefeated at the William Jones Cup, holding off a stiff challenge from New Zealand behind Konstantyn Glazyrin's 24 points, 16 points and nine rebounds, Alimdzhan Fedyushin's 14 points and seven rebounds and an explosive offense that saw eight different players score seven or more points.
Russia managed to overcome a dreadful display from three, finishing 3-of-23 from beyond the arc, though it made up for it by hitting 31 of their 38 free throws. The charity stripe was ultimately the difference, as New Zealand missed 21 of the 43 free throws it earned on the day.
Kevin Braswell (25 points, five steals), former Syracuse star Eric Devendorf (22 points) and Bryan Davis (18 points, 11 rebounds) were excellent for New Zealand, though they weren't enough to top a tough Russian side.
Russia will next take on Gilas Pilipinas, while New Zealand will be tested again in its next contest against undefeated Iran.
Iran Beats Japan, 78-57
Iran continued its winning ways at the William Jones Cup, knocking off Japan, 78-57, behind a balanced attack led by Haddadi Hamed (14 points, eight rebounds) and Kamrani Mahdi (12 points).
Japan were led by Joji Takeuchi's 16 points and nine rebounds.
Iran were in control throughout, holding Japan to just 22 first-half points while finishing 7-of-19 from beyond the arc. The undefeated Iranians will next face New Zealand, while Japan will have a day off before taking on Gilas Pilipinas.
South Korea Beats Gilas Pilipinas, 82-70
A day after opening its tournament with an impressive win over Chinese Taipei Blue, Gilas Pilipinas fell to South Korea, 82-70.
Lee Seung-hyun led the way for South Korea with 19 points, while Moon Tae-jong was a beast on the block, scoring 17 points and adding 12 rebounds.
Terrence Romeo did everything he could to fuel Gilas Pilipinas, scoring 23 points, but only Gary David also seemed up to the task, scoring 16 points.
The game was a tight affair heading into the final quarter, with the score knotted at 54 apiece before South Korea exploded for 28 points in the fourth. Indeed, defense was an issue throughout for Gilas Pilipinas, as Carlo Pamintuan of NMFTV.com passed along:
South Korea will next face the United States, while Gilas Pilipinas has Russia on tap.
Chinese Taipei Blue Beats United States, 96-77
Despite big games from Cory Bradford (19 points) and Marquin Chandler (18 points, five rebounds), the United States fell to Chinese Taipei Blue on Monday, 96-77.
Chinese Taipei Blue jumped out to a 27-13 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, paced by Liu Cheng (14 points, six rebounds), Chen Shun-Hsiang (14 points) and Quincy Davis (13 points, six rebounds).
The United States managed to close the gap somewhat in the second quarter, heading to halftime down 42-34, but Chinese Taipei pulled away again in the third, outscoring the Americans 28-19 in the quarter and giving themselves an insurmountable 17-point lead.
Chinese Taipei Blue will next face Chinese Taipei White, while the United States will take on South Korea.
Stats per 2015WJC.Basketball-tpe.org.
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