Basketball New Zealand

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NZ Tall Black Phill Jones (Photosport)

NZ Tall Black Phill Jones and his Tisettanta Cantu club have snuck into the Italian Lega A playoffs with a 90-83 road win over Livorno.

Jones had just five points (1/6 FG, 3/4 FT) and three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench. Cantu seized control of the game with a 27-18 opening quarter and extended that advantage to 18 points entering the final quarter.

They finished with a 17-17 record for the season and that final win was enough to snatch the final playoff spot from Montegranaro (16-18), who fell 83-89 at home to lowly Teramo.

Cantu now face top-of-the-table Siena (30-4) in a best-of-five series, starting Wednesday.

Meanwhile, former Basketball New Zealand High Performance head coach Leonard King suffered his first defeat as Mackay Meteors coach in the Queensland Australian Basketball League.

Macky fell 81-95 to Townsville and are now 2-1 for the season.

Former NZ Secondary Schools MVP Tyrone Davey had 12 points (4/12 Fg, 1/3 3pt, 3/4 FT), five rebounds, three steals and an assist as Maroochydore Clippers were thumped 106-76 by Cairns.

The Clips are coached by former Tall Black Warwick Meehl.