CHINA CRISIS
TALL FERNS HIT GREAT WALL ON ROUTE TO TOKYO DREAM
The Tall Ferns’ Olympic hopes have been dealt a heavy blow after being on the receiving end of a Chinese backlash in Auckland.
Pre-tournament favourites China bounced back from Thursday’s one-point loss to South Korea with a dominant 94-71 victory over New Zealand in the Olympic qualifying series at The Trusts Arena.
Captain Kalani Purcell led the scoring for the Tall Ferns with 22 points. But, with Chinese great Yao Ming watching from the stands, the Kiwis were blown off the court in the first half and were never able to recover.
With the series concluding today, the lopsided defeat could prove crucial to Tall Ferns’ chances of progressing to the next round of qualifying in February.
The top two in the four-team tournament advance, with China and New Zealand on one win each behind the unbeaten Koreans, who overpowered the Philippines 114-75 in yesterday’s earlier game.
The Guy Molloy-coached team now faces a must-win situation against South Korea. And unless China are given an unlikely scare by the struggling Philippines, who New Zealand thumped by 57 points earlier this week, the Tall Ferns will need to win by more than 16 points to go through.
China made the most of their height advantage and were lethal in transition. A long-range three to end the first quarter was also a sign of what was to come as they made 10 of 17 from beyond the arc.
However, New Zealand were left to rue a disappointing first half at both ends of the court.
They shot just 35 per cent from the floor (compared to 67 per cent for China) without visiting the free-throw line once.
The Tall Ferns improved after the break, refusing to roll over as they lifted defensively and only lost the second half by two points.
The damage had clearly been done but it’s something the squad will undoubtedly look to build on with everything to play for against South Korea today.