Kazakhs Stun JTBs
Tagged in: FIBA U19 World Championship, Junior Tall Blacks
A fourth quarter slump sunk the New Zealand Junior Tall Blacks out of the FIBA U19 World Championship.
The JTBs led by seven points with a quarter remaining and looked on their way to the second before, before Kazakhstan shot their way to a 90-83 win at the North Shore Events Centre on Saturday night.
The central asians lived by the three and thrived by the three.
With Anton Arsenyev and Alexandr Tyutyunik leading the way, Kazakhstan hit 9-of-17 three-point shots and sank 59 percent from the field, dropping the Kiwis to 0-3 and into the 13th-16th classification round.
“That’s definitely disappointing,” said New Zealand centre Rob Loe. “It’s a four-quarter game and we didn’t play well in the fourth quarter. I’m gutted. I guess we just didn’t finish. We didn’t keep our poise.
“Our defence let us down. Our normal goal is to keep teams under 70 points and we gave up 90 points. That’s not good enough. They were pushing the ball and shooting the transition three and that opened up the inside game.
“We played well all tournament and that last quarter just let us down. We didn’t finish it out strongly. We didn’t execute.”
New Zealand led 67-60 with a period to run but stalled to start the fourth, scoring only two points in the first three minutes. The Kazakhs went on a 12-2 run to take a 72-69 lead with 7:14 remaining, including a pair of triples from Arsenyev, a lead they never relinquished.
Arsenyev, who had only eight points in two games before the New Zealand game and only came off the bench when Alexandr Zhigulin got in early foul trouble, led Kazakhstan with 27 points (9/13 FG, 5/7 3pt, 4/7 FT) and made the big shots when needed.
Contrastingly, the JTBs had one of the poorest shooting nights of the preliminary round, hitting 39 percent from the floor, including double-digits from close range, and just 22 percent (4/18) from the perimeter.
Kiwi guard Brook Ruscoe and Loe, returning after missing the previous night with an Achilles strain, top-scored with 20 points, while Richie Edwards had 17 points and point guard Logan van Beek 11 points.
It was a JTBs locker room full of long faces as they slumped out of the tournament.
“We lost a bit of poise, we lost a bit of composure and a bit of leadership in our offence and our execution,” said New Zealand head coach Kenny McFadden.
“We had film on them, we knew who their shooters were and we just didn’t get out and defend their shots well. We didn’t do that well in the first quarter but we got better. But then again they came back in the fourth quarter. A seven-point lead is nothing against a team that can shoot the three.”
After Kazakhstan went up by seven points early in the third period, the Kiwis answered with six straight points and surged ahead on the back of increased defensive pressure up the court and the play of Ruscoe and Loe.
They led by nine points, 67-58, in the final minute of the third period but failed to slam the door on Kazakhstan, who had been blown out by both Croatia and Argentina in their first two games.
Shooting percentages were the big difference in the first half, with the Kazakhs shooting 55 percent (6/11) on three-point attempts and 56 percent from the field (18/32), while the Kiwis were running at 33 percent (2/6) on threes and 46 percent (16/35) on field-goal shots.
Kazakhstan were a two-man team on offence, with Arsenyev coming off the bench to score 14 first half points, including three triples, while Tyutyunik had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
In a balanced first half offence, which saw all five starters score seven points or more, forward Edwards led with nine points for the JTBs, who led for much of the first period but quickly dropped behind in the second.
Five points was the biggest lead for either team in the opening 20 minutes, with the home side leading out with the first points from a van Beek corner three.
New Zealand now join Angola, Iran and Syria in the playoff for 13th, starting on Monday.
“It’s very difficult to take a loss like that, especially as we had a chance to win it again,” said JTBs captain Dion Prewster, who had nine points and six rebounds.
“The guys are definitely down because we wanted to make a mark on this tournament. But tonight Kazakhstan were on fire and we just couldn’t stop it.
“We’re sad but we have to get up and bring it for the next two games. It’s going to be difficult but at the same time it’s about leadership and finding something deep within to get you motivated.
“We wanted to do better but hopefully we can finish on a good note.”
FIBA U19 World Championship
Saturday, July 3
Group D
New Zealand Junior Tall Blacks 83 (Rob Loe 20, Brook Ruscoe 20, Richie Edwards 17, Logan van Beek 11) Kazakhstan 90 (Anton Arsenyev 27, Alexandr Tyutyunik 20, Alexandr Zhigulin 14, Omirzak Akhmet 13)
1Q: 22-19
HT: 42-46 (20-27)
3Q: 67-60 (25-14)
FT: 83-90 (16-30)
