Germany oust young Tall Blacks

The Junior Tall Blacks have completed a ‘‘close but no cigar’’ Fiba under-19 basketball World Cup in Cairo with elimination in the round of 16 at the hands of Germany.

Daryl Cartwright’s side continued to demonstrate their competitiveness in the first knockout round against the Germans, but once again were not able to convert that into a result as they went down 72-65 to exit the tournament.

Earlier in pool play the New Zealanders had given a good account of themselves in defeats against European under-18 champions France (80-69) and South American heavyweights Argentina (74-70), without pushing on for the result.

Once again the Junior Tall Blacks had to overcome a slow start against the Germans, trailing 24-11 at the end of the first quarter as the Europeans made a blistering start.

The Kiwis clawed the deficit back to eight at halftime (30-38), but still trailed by 11 (43-54) entering the final quarter, and were never able to make the run they needed to at the death.

Kentucky sophomore Tai Wynyard led the Junior Tall Blacks with 14 points (5/10 FG), nine rebounds, two steals and a block, while Taane Samuel also chipped in with 14 points on five-of-12 shooting.

University of Miami-bound

Sam Waardenburg added a double-double of 11 points (3/9 FG) and 12 rebounds, but the JTBS paid a price for sub-par shooting, going at just 31 percent from the floor (22 of 69) and 18 percent from deep (3 of 17) for the game.

The normally reliable Quinn Clinton had an off night, missing 11 of his 12 field goal attempts, while Isaac Letoa also couldn’t get his shot to fall as he went two of nine from the floor.

The New Zealanders once again paid a price for their high turnovers (23), though they did win the rebound count 45-32 and second-chance points 15-3.

Meanwhile, the Tall Ferns have opened their account at the William Jones Cup tournament in Taiwan with a 75-52 victory over India.

The New Zealand women’s side were paced by 21 points from Micaela Cocks, while Chevannah Paalvast chimed in with 15 points, and Jillian Harmon added 11, to go with seven rebounds and six assists.

Kalani Purcell was a steely defensive presence, picking up 10 rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots.

‘‘For a first-up game we will take a 23-point win. But we still have a lot of areas to improve on, so against South Korea (next) we get another chance to better ourselves and build towards the Asia Cup in Bangalore,’’ coach Kennedy Kereama said.