William Jones Cup 2015: Scores, Updated Bracket and Standings After Thursday

Iran moved one step closer to winning the 2015 William Jones Cup with a crucial victory over the Philippines on Thursday. It represented a key bounce-back result for the Iranian squad, which got upset by USA Select-Overtake on Wednesday.

Chinese Taipei (Blue) triumphed in the day's second high-profile game, holding off a fourth-quarter surge from Russia to move within striking distance of the top spot. New Zealand and South Korea were the other winners during Thursday's action.

Let's check out the complete group of scores from Day 6 in Taiwan. That's followed by a look at the current standings and a recap of the games.

Thursday's Results

Game	Winning Team	Losing Team	Score
21	Iran	Philippines	74-65
22	New Zealand	Japan	89-81
23	South Korea	Chinese Taipei (White)	77-70
24	Chinese Taipei (Blue)	Russia	77-73

Updated Standings

Rank	Team	W	L	PD	PTS
1	Iran	5	1	+81	11
2	Russia	4	2	+37	10
3	South Korea	4	2	+4	10
4	Chinese Taipei (Blue)	4	1	+32	9
5	Philippines	3	2	+16	8
6	New Zealand	2	3	+4	7
7	USA Select-Overtake	2	3	-22	7
8	Japan	0	5	-61	5
9	Chinese Taipei (White)	0	5	-91	5

Iran defeats the Philippines, 74-65

With the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship looming at month's end, the finalists from the last edition of the regional tournament clashed Thursday in the William Jones Cup. The result matched that of the title game from two years ago, with Iran coming out on top.

Hamed Haddadi played an outstanding game in the post, and Gilas Pilipinas, who are without Andray Blatche as he attends to a family matter, simply had no answer. The center scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while Hamed Afagh added 13 points for the winning side.

Pauliasi Taulava led the way for the Philippines with 12 points, but the necessary offensive execution just wasn't there. Head coach Tab Baldwin didn't like the way his group responded to a tough matchup, as Dodo Catacutan of Spin.ph noted.

"We're still some ways to go as far as being a team is concerned. I thought we lost our discipline out there," Baldwin said.

The Philippines displayed some positive progress throughout the tournament so far. Losing to Iran is a step in the wrong direction, however, and should provide some extra motivation as the team continues getting prepared for the Asian Championship.

New Zealand defeats Japan, 89-81

Japan looked primed to earn its first win of the tournament as it carried an 11-point lead into halftime. Then New Zealand came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter, turning that deficit into a two-point lead en route to its second win of the event.

The three-headed monster of Ray Turner, Eric Devendorf and Kevin Braswell did a majority of the damage for New Zealand. That trio combined for 66 points, 23 rebounds and nine assists to lead the team's comeback charge.

Japan got 23 points and 13 boards from Joji Takeuchi, and Kosuke Kanamaru chipped in 15 points. Most of the problems came at the defensive end, as the team just couldn't get the necessary stops in the second half to stop the scoring barrage.

A matchup with South Korea on Friday gives Japan another chance to finally get in the win column.

South Korea defeats Chinese Taipei (White), 77-70

South Korea is emerging as the William Jones Cup's quiet contender. After a couple of early losses, the Koreans have scored three straight wins, the latest being a seven-point victory over the weaker of the two squads from Chinese Taipei.

Lee Jong-hyun shined throughout the contest, tallying 17 points, six blocked shots and four rebounds. It was a strong team effort at the offensive end, with seven different players scoring at least five points, including four in double digits.

The biggest problem for Chinese Taipei was a lack of contribution from the starters. The group scored just 38 points, leaving too much of a gap for the reserves to make up. As a result, the nation's White Team remains winless through five games.

South Korea is going to need some help to win the trophy, but it can keep its hopes alive with a victory over a struggling Japan side Friday.

Chinese Taipei (Blue) defeats Russia, 77-73

Chinese Taipei's other representative, the Blue Team, is in a far more promising position after an important victory over Russia. It is now just one game behind Iran ahead of a clash between the two championship hopefuls Friday.

Quincy Davis joined the list of post players who excelled on Day 6 with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Cheng Liu also helped spur the side offensively, scoring 21 points off the bench on the strength of five made threes.

Russia's issue was the opposite of Chinese Taipei (White). The starters held up their end of the bargain by scoring 65 points, but the bench managed just eight. A little more production from the second unit and the result likely reverses.

Chinese Taipei (Blue) can move into control of its own destiny if it can defeat Iran on Friday. If not, the Iranians will take firm control of the tournament.