July 02, 2007
Texas A&M sophomore Donald Sloan scored eight points in Athletes in Action?â„¢s (AIA) 72-67 loss to the Phillipine National Team (PBA) on Monday in the opening game of the 2007 William R. Jones Cup.
?Right now we?â„¢re just learning how to play together,? Coach Mike Jarvis said. ?We played against a very good team and had a chance to win. When the game came down to the final five minutes, they finished and made the plays. I feel good though. We played really hard. I?â„¢d like to see us play a little better, but I?â„¢m not disappointed in the way played.
?We?â„¢re just going to take one game at a time and try to be the best we can be. When we ran our offense and took our time we were very efficient. I thought we did a great job of coming back and taking the lead after being down eight.?
The Jones Cup is a round robin tournament with all 10 teams playing nine games in nine days. Other competing countries include: Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, Qatar, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Kazakhstan. AIA, representing the United States, and Japan are the lone two non-senior National Teams competing in the tournament as preparation for next month's Olympic qualifying tournament in Thailand.
UNC Wilmington?â„¢s Todd Hendley was one of three AIA players to score double figures, finishing with a team-high 11 points. Marshall?â„¢s Tyler Wilkerson and Michigan?â„¢s Zack Gibson added 10 points apiece.
AIA, which won the 2006 Jones Cup, plays Kazakhstan on Tuesday.