China walkoff ends Tall Blacks game
A second behind-closed-doors basketball game between the Tall Blacks and Chinese national team in Auckland had to be abandoned when the visitors walked off court in the third quarter.
Paul Henare’s young Tall Blacks were leading China 63-61 late in the third quarter when the game, at the Bruce Pulman Arena in south Auckland, was halted.
China’s coach, Feng Du, indicated to Tall Blacks officials via a translator his team objected to the nature of the officiating, and that they had decided to withdraw the players from the contest.
Tall Blacks coach Henare described the decision by the visitors as ‘‘disappointing’’.
A Tall Blacks spokesman said the coach told them ‘‘they weren’t getting anything out of the game, and that it was not helping their preparation’’.
When the game was abandoned the Chinese team had been called for 31 fouls and New Zealand 18. The Tall Blacks had received 45 free-throws, with the visitors attempting just 14.
Henare’s youthful Tall Blacks, without a raft of senior players who are being rested for the upcoming Fiba Asia Cup campaign, had trailed 20-18 after the first quarter and 48-44 at halftime. But they had just hit the lead in the third quarter when the Chinese players staged their walkoff.
Point guard Shea Ili was leading the Tall Blacks’ scoring at that stage with 15 points, including 11 of 14 made free-throws, while skipper Reuben Te Rangi had racked up 13 points (nine of 12 from the line) and three rebounds. Once again the team had its shooting issues, and had made just 13 of 34 field goal attempts when the game ended prematurely.
‘‘The fact the scrimmage ended early was disappointing, but that was not our call,’’ Henare said. ‘‘We got three good quarters of competitive basketball today and will continue to work on the training court here and in China before we get to Lebanon. We have a long way to go, but I am pleased with what I am seeing from this group.’’
Henare said his young group dealt well with another busy day, with a morning practice and then the second straight matchup against China.
‘‘This afternoon was about looking after the ball better and handling the Chinese ball pressure, which I thought we did well with reduced turnovers. We made some defensive adjustments and again showed good improvement there in the short time we have been together.
‘‘Our offence is still evolving and needs fine-tuning, and obviously we need to make more of our shots. But that will come as we spend more time together on court.’’
A day earlier the touring China team, who have just completed a series in Australia, defeated the Tall Blacks 80-70 in the first of the back-to-back games. Both teams are preparing for the Asia Cup in Lebanon from August 8-20.
The Tall Blacks head to China today to continue their buildup for Lebanon.