Dr. R. William Jones, the first secretary general of the International Amateur Basketball Federation (FIBA), was deeply moved during an April 17, 1977 visit to the Republic of China on discovering the local popularity of basketball; it was and is, clearly, the country's favorite sport.
He proceeded to encourage the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) to sponsor an international basketball tournament, pointing out not only the local proficiency in the sport, but benefits for the nation: it could help offset setbacks in the international diplomatic arena over the past decade. Promoting the ROC's international status and prestige via basketball, he argued, could also help revitalize the country's Olympic stance.
Dr. Jones offered Yu Chi-chung, CTBA president, a London-made silver tournament cup and urged that the ROC sponsor the Jones Cup International Tournament, which had been staged in Europe and Latin America for two decades. The CTBA accepted.
Taipei's First Jones Cup Tournament opened July 31, 1977 at the Chinese Sports and Cultural Stadium. A total of ten men's and women's teams from the U.S., Denmark, the Philippines, South Korea, France, and Saudi Arabia, and six ROC host teams competed for the Cup.
That first tournament, in the presence of world basketball figures, including Dr. Jones, drew international attention. Since then, the yearly Jones Cup play has attracted participants and built friendships for the ROC with many distant countries.
ROC basketball circles still recall Dr. Jones' words at that first Taipei tournament: "Tonight, the game is over. But, this is a start instead of a closing. When difficulties come, don't be discouraged, just move on. The world's basketball family did not and will not forget you."
Addressing this year's tournament in Taipei, CTBA president Yu heralded its meaning:
"The Ninth William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament begins its first sessions in Taipei tonight. Twenty-eight first rate men's and women's teams from fifteen countries will play 110 games in a full month's time-once again a new record for the Cup and the basketball movement in this country. On behalf of the Basketball Association of the Republic of China, I extend my sincere welcome to all the guest teams, who have come from afar.
"The William Jones Cup is founded on the purpose of promoting the sport of basketball, the Olympic spirit, and international goodwill. The outstanding performance of all the 194 teams from 36 participant countries in these nine tournaments has not only fulfilled this purpose, but also set a perfect example of sportsmanship and fair play in the world of sports."
Rudolph Nureyev, the Russian ballet dancer who defected to the West, once exclaimed over the grace of basketball players, who pivot and change direction smoothly, without any trace of exertion; ballet dancers, he ruefully acknowledged, have to practice assiduously for each successful jump. And, indeed, basketball bounces its practitioners right into a performing art form, requiring a subtle combination of tremendous body control, action tone, coolness of mind, and imagination.
The 1985 Jones Cup women all-stars (right to left, from front): Walker Joyce-Italy, Suzie McConnell-US, Hsu Hsueh-chu-ROC, Lee Mi-ja and Lee Hyung-soon ROK; (second row): Anita Blange-West Germany, Marta Souza-Brazil, Fran Harris-US, Pia Evinsson and Christina Johansson-Sweden, and Bev Smith and Debbie Huband-Canada.
Watching this year's Jones Cup tourney, the truth of Nureyev's observations was evident. There were the graceful pivots and dancing rhythms. Many of this year's players- Uruguay's Wilfredo Ruiz, the ROC's Chang Szu-han, America's Harold Presley, and South Korea's Lee Tsung-hsi, for instance-are obviously artists who play basketball. They play both to their own beats and the measures of the other players. The game could be choreographed to melodies, each move a note. It would be a quick tempo. They move. They pause. They arch bodies and souls to silent music.
The Jones Cup is a playground for basketball artists. They flew in from: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, West Germany, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Uruguay, and Thailand-a total of 28 select teams ready for the respective June 23 and July 2 openings of women's and men's division play.
Five South Korean women played on the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics silver-medal team; the US men's and women's teams included such Olympic top players as 22-year-old Anucha Browne, the NCAA's top woman shooting star, who registered a per game average of 30 scoring points in 98 contests; 24-year-old, 6-foot-3-inch Wilfred Ruiz of the Uruguay men's team is the World Cup shooting star from Colombia-his Uruguay national team finished in sixth place in the L.A. Olympics.
This year's national ROC men's squad was energized by three powerful, special recruits-Chang Szu-han and Sun Chia-kang from the US, and Hsu Tung-ching from Japan. Chang, an all-position UC-Berkeley player, introduced and illustrated American basketball "body contest" concepts in defense and offense. This was significant for the ROC team since "personal-favorite" playing positions are becoming increasingly unrealistic for today's "match-up zone," "no ball area," and "packing defense" strategies, widely applied now by basketball coaches around the world.
The opening ceremony for 1985 Jones Cup play at Taipei's Chinese Cultural and Sports Stadium.
Art prevails and attracts. Since 1977's initial Jones Cup competition, the tourney has become an annual feast for ROC basketball fans, drawing an estimated annual total audience of about six million people (almost one third the whole population of the country) via nation-wide radio and TV broadcasts.
People talk about the tourney in the streets. Fans swarm around the stadium exits, waiting for favorite players' autographs. Outside the Mandarin Hotel, fans also maintained their vigils. On the evening of the special one-day tourney "truce"', after the preliminary matches-a festivity known as "Basketball Evening"—hundreds of local basketball fans populated the lobby as the players staged skits, singing, and dancing. Following an unwritten rule, each team offers at least one entertainment program.
The US women's team pantomimed to the Michael Jackson-Lionel Richie co-authored, "We Are the World." As the music rose, almost all the players joined in, humming and swinging. To those present, it seemed the whole world was singing ... "When we hear a certain call, the world must get together as one...We are the world. We are the children."
Isn't that what international sports are all about?