Basketball New Zealand

Rob Loe (David Lintott)

Young Tall Black centre Rob Loe logged nine scoreless minutes for the World Select Team as they lost 97-101 to the United States at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon.

Loe shot 0/4 FG, 0/1 3pt and grabbed a rebound in the annual match-up of world’s top U19 players.

The international team led by 15 points late in the third quarter, but were outscored 42-23 over the final 10m 09s. Guard Harrison Barnes led his outfit with 27 points, while Turkish centre Enes Kanter accumulated 34 points/13 rebounds, breaking Dirk Nowitzki’s scoring record (33) set in 1998.

This week, Loe is expected to name which US college he will attend for the next four years.

Tall Black captain Kirk Penney and his Sioux Falls Skyforce face a must-win encounter at home with the Tulsa 66ers if they hope to progress through the opening round of NBA Development League playoffs.

The Skyforce dropped the opening game of their best-of-three series 109-119 in Tulsa. Penney led his team’s scoring with 16 points (6/9 FG, 2/3 3pt, 2/3 FT), three rebounds, two steals and one assist.

They evened the contest up at home the following night with a 106-99 win and Penney contributing 12 points (4/11 FG, 1/1 3pt, 3/3 FT), four rebounds, two steals and one rebound.

In the Italian women’s Lega A quarterfinals, Tall Fern Jillian Harmon did her bit to get underdogs Pool Comense an upset over Famila Wuber Schio, but could not prevent her team falling 77-83 in the opening game of their home-and-away series.

Harmon had 12 points (5/10 FG, 2/4 FT), nine rebounds, a steal and a block in 37 minutes. Comense must now win at home by more than six points on Tuesday.