Tall Blacks set to face Boomers
These young Tall Blacks just keep getting better and better.
Paul Henare’s New Zealand men’s basketballers dominated their Asia Cup quarterfinal yesterday against Jordan in Beirut to win through to an intriguing semifinal matchup against the Australian national team, the Boomers, early tomorrow.
The Tall Blacks, missing all of 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.
‘‘Shea has become a leader, and grown with it. He showed a tremendous amount of poise tonight through the ups and downs of that game, he stayed in his place and lifted our team at key times,’’ added McMains.
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. He made seven of his 12 shots overall, including two of his three attempts from range, and troubled the Jordanians throughout with his mix of size, mobility and shooting touch.
The livewire Finn Delany had a