Tall Blacks poised for Australian challenge
These young Tall Blacks just keep getting better and better.
Paul Henare’s New Zealand men’s basketballers dominated their Fiba Asia Cup quarterfinal yesterday against Jordan in Beirut to win through to an intriguing alloceania semifinal matchup against Australia early tomorrow (6am NZT).
The Tall Blacks, missing all
their senior players who were given this inaugural Asian zone campaign off, continued to exceed expectations with a 98-70 all-theway victory over Jordan who had no answer to the Kiwis’ hustling defence, rebounding relentlessness and excellent ball movement. They won the final quarter 32-13 to put the icing on an impressive performance in front of former coach Nenad Vucinic.
‘‘The guys came out from the start with the right amount of energy and sustained it through the game,’’ said Us-based assistant coach Ross Mcmains afterwards. ‘‘With this group, when they do that and play smart, we are in a really good place.
‘‘The word poise comes up. Nenad mentioned it in the middle of the third quarter: he said ‘for a team so young, this group is tremendously poised’. They are calm in chaotic situations and that has carried us through some tough times.’’
Henare got a well-balanced display from his key players too, with standout point guard Shea Ili leading the way with a double-double of 19 points (on eight-of-14 shooting) and 13 assists, as well as four rebounds and two steals. The Breakers playmaker continues to be at the heart of so much of what this team is achieving.
But the contributions came thick and fast down Henare’s rotation.
Tohi Smith-milner continued his breakthrough tournament at this level with 19 points and seven rebounds.
The livewire Finn Delany had a strong second half to finish with 17 points (7/10 FG) and nine boards (six off the offensive glass), Jordan Ngatai chipped in with 10 points and big man Sam Timmins added nine points and 11 rebounds and was sound on defence in the paint.
Skipper Reuben Te Rangi’s contribution was also significant. He had nine points (3/6 FG, 2/4 3PT) and seven assists and was a key playmaking option for his team in the first half as they put their opponents into an early hole.