Webster blooms for Tall Blacks

Coach Paul Henare has hailed the maturity of Corey Webster after the sweet-shooting guard led New Zealand to a 93-84 World Cup qualifying win over South Korea in Seoul.

The Tall Blacks avenged their loss to the same opponents in Wellington in the opening round of qualifying in November and stayed top of their four-nation group.

They will advance to the next stage, regardless the results of their two final group games at home to winless Hong Kong and China in four months. The clash with China in Auckland on July 1 should determine the group winners.

It was a second performance of quality on the road for coach Paul Henare’s team, three days after their upset win over China.

They once again employed smothering all-court defence and a high-tempo offence led by Webster, who unleashed a game-high 30 points, including six-from-nine from the threepoint line and six assists.

Down by three after the first quarter, the visitors dominated the middle of the game, with Henare delighted by the follow-me attitude of Webster. “I have been hugely impressed and was very proud of seeing a guy like Corey Webster continue to grow,” Henare said. “His on-court ability is phenomenal but he has matured with what he does with the ball in hand.”

Webster has had his share of off-court problems and left the Breakers last year under a cloud before signing for an Israeli club. Henare said the players had nothing but respect for the 29-year-old.

“Where I was really proud to see him grow was in his leadership in the locker room, just simple messages he was giving at important times, before games and leading into games and throughout games as well.” — NZN