Abercrombie delivers at death for Tall Blacks
Tom Abercrombie was the star as the Tall Blacks extended their Fiba World Cup qualifying win streak to 10 with a grind-out 69-67 victory over Lebanon in Beirut.
The New Zealand small forward hit the go-ahead bucket – a majestic three-pointer from high on the arc – with 18 seconds left to give his team the lead for the final time in a thrilling finish.
Then, just for good measure, he made a massive defensive play on home centre Ater Majok with time all but up as the Lebanese scrambled in the dying seconds to send the contest into overtime.
The Tall Blacks’ victory, at a frenzied Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex, improved them to 10-1 through the qualifying process and ensures them of a top-two seeding out of Asia for the World Cup in China later this year. Lebanon drop to 6-5 as they cling to the later of the seven spots out of the region.
The New Zealanders will close out the qualifying process in Jordan tomorrow when they look to extend that win streak to 11. They have not lost since dropping their very first game at home to Korea.
Abercrombie shook off a flat end to his Breakers season with a standout display for the Tall Blacks, leading them with 19 points on eight-of-15 shooting, including two of six from threepoint range. None of his shots were bigger than that late triple off the down screen to ice the victory with the New Zealanders trailing 67-66.
Finn Delany also put in a top night’s work for Paul Henare’s side, pouring in 15 high-energy points in just 18 minutes off the bench. He made seven of his 10 shots to go with a team-high eight rebounds.
None of the other Tall Blacks got much going offensively, though they did lock down excellently as a team on defence, forcing their hosts into a 31 per cent shooting night. Corey Webster and Rob Loe combined to go four of 23 from the floor, though Loe and Mika Vukona did grab seven rebounds apiece.
‘‘We knew it was going to be tough, we knew we were going to have to play really well,’’ coach Henare said afterwards. ‘‘We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but we did enough to get across the line.’’
Abercrombie said it had been important to keep their cool when the inevitable runs came from Lebanon over the second half.
‘‘They had a very vocal crowd behind them, but we did a good job holding our nerve. We knew we were going to get our chance down the stretch,’’ he said.
Both Henare and Abercrombie emphasised they were determined to close out qualifying play with a win in Jordan, despite Vukona, Reuben Te Rangi and Alex Pledger all returning home to start Australian NBL playoff preparations.
‘‘One of our goals is to play for the highest possible seed to get a preferential draw in the World Cuo, so every win is important,’’ Henare said.
Added Abercrombie: ‘‘We’re going for that top seed and we’re going to play our absolute hardest and try get a win. Jordan are going to be desperate and are going to throw everything at us.’’
Big man Ali Haidar led Lebanon with a double-double of 16 points (4/13 FG) and 11 rebounds, Wael Arakji chipped in with 13 points, Majok added 10 points and nine boards and Ahmad Ibrahim got going in the final period to notch 10 points.
It wasn’t always pretty through the first two quarters but the Tall Blacks did well to eventually quieten the big home crowd and carve out a 37-30 lead by the major break, after edging out to 16-13 at the end of the opening period.
Neither team shot well through the half (the New Zealanders converted at a 39 per cent clip and Lebanon 34), but, behind eight points apiece from Abercrombie and the energetic Delany off the bench, Henare’s men worked the lead to doubledigits late in the second period before a late triple from Amir Saoud got the home side back within seven at the intermission.
Delany was particularly impressive in the first two quarters, pouring in a point a minute off the bench as he knocked down four of six shots and added three rebounds. Abercrombie also got going in the second period to help offset some wayward shooting from Webster (1/5 FG) and Loe (2/11 FG).
The New Zealanders’ defence kept them in the ascendancy as they limited Lebanon to just two made triples (from 14 attempts) and won the points off turnovers 11-4 and fast-break points 9-2.
The Lebanese, with their passionate crowd roaring, started the third quarter on an 8-2 run, assumed the lead at the mid-point as Haidar’s shot started to drop and went into the final break with the scores locked at 52-52 courtesy of a 22-15 period.
It stayed tight down the stretch, with Lebanon leading by a point with four minutes left and by the same margin inside the final minute. Then Abercrombie stepped up and had the final say.