Te Rangi shows class as Tall Blacks end drought

For Reuben Te Rangi, Thursday night’s drought-breaking upset international Tall Blacks win over Australia’s Boomers in Brisbane was especially satisfying.

Te Rangi, of course, relishes every win he gets to be part of in the black singlet but this 108-98 Fiba Asia Cup qualifying boilover had connotations beyond your regular game of hoops.

The 25-year-old was returning to the Tall Blacks fold after missing last year’s World Cup campaign through a knee injury that ultimately required surgery. That was a painful omission after the hard-nosed forward had played a major role through the qualifying process.

It was also in the Nissan Arena gym where he plays his NBL hoops with the Brisbane Bullets in front of some fans who quite rightly raised an eyebrow this season when coach Andrej Lemanis shunted him well down the rotation, playing him sparingly, if at all.

Coming on top of Te Rangi’s exploits of 2018-19, when he was named the NBL’s Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player, it was a surprise to see the Kiwi’s stock fall so fast. On Thursday, he showed he is a much better player than that, with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting (4 of 7 from deep), snaring 6 boards and dishing out 5 assists.

New Zealand 108 (Reuben Te Rangi 21, Shea Ili 21, Rob Loe 19, Jordan Ngatai 19, Jarrod Kenny 10, Dion Prewster 10) Australia 98 (Todd Blanchfield 17, Nathan Sobey 13, Cam Gliddon 13, Kyle Adnam 12, Jason Cadee 11). 1Q: 27-31; HT: 52-46; 3Q: 82-73.

The importance of the occasion was also not lost on Te Rangi. The Tall Blacks hadn’t beaten the Boomers since 2009’s upset in Wellington and in Kiwi hoops legend Pero Cameron’s first game as head coach, there would assuredly no more fitting occasion.

He was also well aware that Basketball Australia had felt secure in sending out a young Boomers lineup featuring six debutants. It was up to Te Rangi and co to prove to them the folly of that decision.

‘‘That was pretty special,’’ Te Rangi said afterwards. ‘‘For a lot of us that is our first time beating Australia. Any time you can do that, we will take that opportunity.

‘‘The way the boys came out and played and hustled with that short turnaround, three days’ training, that was a special night and I won’t forget this one.

‘‘It has been a long road from my knee surgery coming to this point. It always feels good when you play well, but credit to the boys for leaving it all out there on the floor.’’