Basketball New Zealand

Basketball New Zealand

The New Zealand under-18 men claimed bronze medals on the final day of the Australian Youth Olympic Festival basketball tournament in Sydney on Saturday.

Behind a team-high 27 points from Cantabrian Ethan Rusbatch and double-doubles from Aussie-based Max Williams and Tepasu Thomas, New Zealand blew a fourth-quarter lead before prevailing 86-85 in overtime over Japan in the bronze medal playoff.

Rusbatch (10/22 FG, 6/12 3pt, 1/2 FT) hit the game-winning three-point shot with 40 seconds remaining in overtime as New Zealand claimed their second win over Japan, improving to 2-2.

Rusbatch, the scoring leader throughout the week, also pitched in with eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Williams, who hit a big three with just over a minute to play in regulation to level the scores at 77-77, finished with 17 points (7/16 FG, 3/11 3pt), 13 rebounds and dropped three assists.

Thomas, who along with Rusbatch and Williams played all 45 minutes, had 12 points (6/12 FG, 0/2 FT) but his big contribution came on the glass, corralling 20 boards, including 11 offensive, also with four assists.

New Zealand led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter after a powerful 24-13 second period put them ahead by 12 at halftime. The Kiwis still led by 11 points with 6:23 remaining in the fourth period but were outscored 18-7 down the stretch, with Tia Temata-Frost, who finished with 10 points, having a potential game-winner blocked in the final minute.

New Zealand jumped on the Japanese early, jumping out to a nine-point lead after four minutes but were then outscored 14-1 as Japan took a four-point advantage.

A 62-33 rebounding edge proved the difference for the Kiwis, scoring 20 points off 26 offensive boards.

New Zealand shot 42 percent from the field and 29 percent on threes, similar percentages to their Asian opponents, and won despite being outscored in the paint and lost the turnover battle 21-11.
The country’s under-18 women had to settle for fourth after a 95-64 loss to China in the bronze playoff.

Jasmine Davis top-scored with 17 points (7/13 FG, 3/6 FT) along with five rebounds, while Samara Gallaher had 13 points (3/10 FG, 7/8 FT), eight rebounds and three steals, and Shiana-Rose Harris and Jasana Salmon added nine points each.

New Zealand, who shot 27 percent from the floor and 24 percent on long-range attempts, did manage to win the fourth quarter 18-12 but were convincingly outplayed in the first three periods, down 25 at halftime.

The Kiwi women trailed by nine points after the first quarter but were outplayed and outscored by 28 points in the middle quarters. New Zealand did turn the ball over fewer times than China but were heavily out-rebounded and outscored in the paint.

Australian Youth Olympic Festival

Sydney Uni Sports & Aquatic Centre

Saturday, January 17

Men
New Zealand 86 (Ethan Rusbatch 27, Max Williams 17, Tepasu Thomas 12, Tia Temata-Frost 10) Japan 85 (Kengo Nomoto 29, Kodai Kimura 22, Taku Bando 11)
New Zealand vs Japan Under-18 Men Box Score

Women
China 95 (Wen Wen Zhang 19, Jiahe Zhang 15, Dong Yu 14, Mengran Sun 12, Jiayi Zuo 10) New Zealand 64 (Jasmine Davis 17, Samara Gallaher 13)
New Zealand vs China Under-18 Women Box Score