Aussie U18s - Day Six
Tagged in: Athletes, National Teams
The final day of pool play was a good day for the New Zealand teams at the Australia Under-18 National Championships in Ballarat, Victoria, on Thursday.
Both the men’s and women’s squads celebrated their first victories, with the Kiwi men posting back-to-back wins to vault themselves to fourth in pool A and a chance to finish as high as fifth as the tournament enters the playoff stage on Friday.
Winston Li had 19 points and seven assists in Thursday morning’s 84-59 win over West Australia Country, while Ethan Rusbatch added 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, Tom Rowe 14 points and 12 rebounds, Manu Telefoni six points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Hayden Miller five points, seven rebounds and four assists.
NZ trailed 19-10 after the first quarter but turned it on in the second, winning 30-14, to take a seven-point lead into halftime, before a 26-12 fourth period ended the team’s four-game losing streak in Ballarat.
It was a similar story in their 91-57 win over Tasmania, the team trailing 22-16 after the first quarter before completely dominating the rest of the game, outscoring the Tasmanians a combined 50-19 in the second and third periods.
Rowe top-scored with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting, with seven rebounds and Holland had 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including five three-pointers.
Telefoni produced a stacked double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and six steals, while Rusbatch added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists, Li 10 points and eight assists and Jake Ashby eight points and eight rebounds.
Finishing pool A with a 2-4 record, NZ finished fourth on countback over New South Wales Country and Tasmania and will meet WA Metro (4-2, third in pool B) on Friday in the fifth-eight playoff bracket.
Hannah Mackay top-scored with 20 points and Mesha Blair produced a 10-point and 20-rebound double-double as the Kiwi women ended their five-game losing streak with a 93-86 overtime win over Tasmania on Thursday.
Awhina Karawana added 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, four rebounds and four assists, Jasmie Davis compiled 14 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals while Natasha Hall had 12 points and Mikayla Blair eight points and five rebounds in the win.
NZ fell behind 26-20 in the first quarter but took the lead before halftime with a 22-12 second period, and were ahead going into the final session. But double-digit turnovers saw Tasmania win the quarter 21-17 and force the game into overtime, where the Kiwis dominated to win by six points.
With the sole win, NZ avoided finishing bottom in pool B, ending sixth at 1-5, and will face ACT (2-4, fifth in pool A) in the ninth-12th playoff bracket.
