Basketball New Zealand

The NZ Junior Tall Blacks had to settle for 14th place in their debut at the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim, Germany, losing 65-90 to Russia in their final outing of the event.

New Zealand created enough chances to be in contention against the European superpower, actually attempting more shots, but struggled to convert their chances, shooting just 36.6% FG and 23.8% (5/21) 3pt.

Their form was no better from the charity stripe, where they connected on less then half their attempts (8/17).

Russia were always in the driver’s seat after a 27-14 opening quarter and extended their advantage to 32 points entering the final period.

Porirua guard Brook Ruscoe and Wellington forward Dion Prewster again led the way for the young Kiwis with 14 points apiece. Prewster added eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal, while Ruscoe chipped in seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Harbour centre Rob Loe contributed 11 points (5/11 FG, 1/3 3pt) and seven boards.

While the Kiwis will return home with just one win to their names – against Israel in post-section play – their performance will give them plenty of room for improvement before they take on Australia, who lost to Greece in the semifinals, for a spot at next year’s FIBA World U19 Championships.

The Greeks will meet Turkey, semifinal winners over the United States, in the Schweitzer final.

Albert Schweitzer Tournament
Mannheim, Germany
Friday, March 28
Russia 90 (Pavel Antipov & Evegeny Valiev 17) NZ Junior Tall Blacks 65 (Brooke Ruscoe & Dion Prewster 14, Rob Loe 11)
1Q: 27-14
HT: 55-31 (28-17)
3Q: 77-45 (22-14)
FT: 90-65 (13-20)
Box Score - New Zealand v Russia (15KB html)