Basketball New Zealand

Junior Tall Black logo

Another disastrous start saw the Junior Tall Blacks remain winless at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament, falling 50-89 to China in their final pool game.

The Kiwis fell behind 12-30 in the opening quarter and scored only five points in the second to trail 17-48 at halftime. While they were more competitive over the final stages, the Chinese were giving their bench a run – all their players logged at least 10 minutes in the runaway victory.

Again, New Zealand shot poorly, converting just 30% FG and even struggling to finish around the basket. By contrast, China shot 49% FG and were accurate from both close range (73%) and long distance (12/29 3pt).

No JTBs managed to score in double figures, but Nelson guard Chris Duthie again fell just short of a double double with nine points (4/9 FG, 1/3 3pt) and 10 rebounds. Harbour forward Shaq Hohipa-Wilson also had nine points in a three-minute cameo appearance.

Teams now have a rest day and when play resumes on Wednesday, the Junior Tall Blacks (0-3) will face Brazil (1-2), then Japan (0-3) on Thursday in the playoffs for placings 9-16.

Albert Schweitzer Tournament

Mannheim, Germany
Monday, April 5
China 89 NZ Junior Tall Blacks 50 (Chris Duthie & Shaq Hohipa-Wilson 9)
Q1 30-12
HT 48-17 (18-5)
Q3 64-31 (16-14)
FT 89-50 (25-19)