Iran is the last undefeated country left standing in the 2015 William Jones Cup after knocking off New Zealand on Tuesday. Russia, which also entered Day 4 with an unblemished mark, suffered its first loss at the hands of the Philippines.
The Iranian squad has been dominant in a tournament that's otherwise remained highly competitive. Its average margin of victory is nearly 22 points. Only one other team has a point differential that high for the entire event so far.
Let's check out the complete set of scores from the fourth day of action in Taiwan. It's followed by a look at the updated standings and a recap of the action.
Tuesday's Results
| Game | Winning Team | Losing Team | Score |
| 13 | Philippines | Russia | 85-71 |
| 14 | Iran | New Zealand | 83-70 |
| 15 | South Korea | USA Select-Overtake | 94-80 |
| 16 | Chinese Taipei (Blue) | Chinese Taipei (White) | 84-69 |
Updated Standings
| Rank | Team | W | L | PD | PTS |
| 1 | Iran | 4 | 0 | +87 | 8 |
| 2 | Chinese Taipei (Blue) | 3 | 1 | +28 | 7 |
| 3 | Russia | 3 | 1 | +11 | 7 |
| 4 | South Korea | 2 | 2 | -7 | 6 |
| 5 | Philippines | 2 | 1 | +10 | 5 |
| 6 | USA Select-Overtake | 1 | 3 | -37 | 5 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | Japan | 0 | 3 | -38 | 3 |
| 9 | Chinese Taipei (White) | 0 | 3 | -54 | 3 |
Philippines defeats Russia, 85-71
The Philippines came into the tournament seeking improvement after going 0-3 in the recent Toyota Four Nations Cup. While Gilas Pilipinas are not at the necessary level to have success in the FIBA Asia Championship later in the month, their win showcased further progress.
Ranidel de Ocampo led the way for the winning side, which is without Andray Blatche as he deals with a family issue, with 13 points. Head coach Tab Baldwin was happy with how everybody rose to the occasion when called upon, as Inquirer.net noted:
Everybody had to play. They made mistakes. Our game was not polished but everybody stepped up and contributed. What I liked the most was that we played with our roles—the shooters getting their shots, the rebounders getting the rebounds. From that standpoint, it's a team win.
The positive strides on the defensive end are most notable. After struggling mightily to get key stops in the Toyota Four Nations Cup, the Philippines is doing a much better job collectively of keeping opponents from getting so many easy looks around the rim.
Kostiantyn Glazyrin had 23 points for Russia in the loss.
Iran defeats New Zealand, 83-70
New Zealand pushed Iran harder than any other opponent in the event so far. It trailed by just two heading into the fourth quarter before the tournament leaders finally pulled away with a 25-14 scoring edge in the final period.
Hamed Haddadi had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Iranians. Mohammad Jamshidi and Asghar Kardoust also reached double digits in scoring, chipping in 13 points apiece. The main reason they didn't pull away more quickly was the fact they made just four of 30 attempts from three-point range.
Bryan Davis and Brook Ruscoe combined for 23 points and 12 rebounds for New Zealand. The team's lack of a reliable point guard to run the offense resulted in just four assists and 15 turnovers, and it prevented the squad from making a charge in the fourth.
Iran will look to continue its winning streak against USA Select-Overtake on Wednesday.
South Korea defeats USA Select-Overtake, 94-80
The struggles of the United States' tournament representative, Select-Overtake, continued with its third loss in four games on Tuesday. While it's a roster nowhere close to what the U.S. would send to a major international event, the results are nonetheless lackluster.
Perhaps the biggest issue is the lack of depth, which was on full display against South Korea. Marquin Chandler, Derek Hall and Cory Bradford combined for 52 points, while the rest of the squad chipped in just 28.
In contrast, South Korea had seven different players reach double figures. Lee Seung-hyun paced the Koreans with 18 points and seven rebounds. He led the way as they grabbed an 11-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back.
Based on the way USA Select-Overtake has played so far, Wednesday's matchup with Iran could have an ugly scoreline for the Americans.
Chinese Taipei (Blue) defeats Chinese Taipei (White), 84-69
The main event of the day saw the two squads from Chinese Taipei square off. Though the underdog White Team held a one-point lead at halftime, the Blue Team controlled the third quarter, 24-10, en route to the victory.
Chou Po-Chen had a terrific game for the Blue squad, tallying 19 points and eight rebounds. Hung Chih-Shan added 17 points on the strength of five three-pointers as Chinese Taipei "A" moved into second place through four games.
Chou Yi-Hsiang posted 22 points for the losing side. The results should improve over the remaining portion of the tournament, though. The team has already faced New Zealand, Iran and now the other group from Chinese Taipei in the early going.
If Chinese Taipei Blue can maintain its current course, a potentially huge matchup with Iran looms Friday.
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