Tall Blacks Get Revenge, Eh
Tagged in: National Teams, Tall Blacks
The New Zealand Tall Blacks surged to their second straight win in their Olympic qualifying build-up in Toronto on Saturday morning.
Getting a game-high 22 points from shooting guard Kirk Penney, the Tall Blacks defeated 17th-ranked Canada 77-69 at the Ricoh Coliseum, avenging Wednesday’s 27-point loss and ending the Jack Donohue International Classic with a 2-1 record.
Penney hit 7-of-15 from the field, including four of his six three-point attempts, and scored four crucial points midway through the final period that gave New Zealand an eight-point they never relinquished.
In a wild game of scoring floods and droughts, the Tall Blacks led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter and 17 points in the second quarter, while the Canadians led by seven points early in the third.
Trailing by six points after three quarters, the Canadians were able to pull within a point at 62-61 with 7:54 remaining, before a 10-1 run from the Tall Blacks, including points from captain Pero Cameron, forward Mika Vukona and Penney, in the middle stages of the quarter gave them a 10-point gap with 4:05 to play.
Despite scoring just five more points in a low-scoring and foul-dominated fourth period that saw almost as many fouls (23) whistled as points scored (28), the Kiwi defence was able to hold down the stretch.
“We really wanted to get back to the basics of Tall Blacks basketball,” coach Nenad Vucinic said.
“That’s really gritty, low-scoring games, good defence, and we played like that today.
“We showed in those first three games that we didn’t really handle the pressure well and we showed tonight that we can, we played with a lot more confidence.
“I was really pleased with our defence tonight and if we can step that up I would be even happier.”
Cameron picked up his fifth foul with the Tall Blacks up 72-62 with 3:02 remaining, Vukona exited the game 30 seconds later with the Tall Blacks still up nine, while back-ups Nick Horvath and Michael Fitchett also had foul trouble.
Point guard Lindsay Tait finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Horvath hit 4-of-7 for his 12 points and Cameron had 11 points and five rebounds.
Canadian guard Rowan Barrett, who top-scored with 19 points in Wednesday’s win, was the only double-figure scorer with 18 points, while Andy Rautins and Miami Heat centre Joel Anthony both added nine points as the Canadians shot 34 percent from the field and 52 percent (12-of-23) on three-point attempts.
After starting the game by making six of their first eight attempts, the Tall Blacks cooled, especially from mid-second on, ending with a modest 37 percent from the floor and three-point range.
“We are a team that relies on our shooting and we have good shooters. We need to shoot well. We had a good first half tonight but we missed a lot of open looks in the second half and we have to hit those.”
The Kiwis were cruising up 17 points midway through the second period before a scoring drought flipped the game on its head.
New Zealand still led by 12 points with 2:33 to go in the half but a flurry of missed shots and turnovers and three straight triples from guards Jermaine Anderson and Barrett closed the gap to three points at the main break.
Until the final two minutes - which saw the Canadians cap a 14-0 scoring run going into the half as the Tall Blacks went scoreless for the last 5:06 - the Kiwis lead had not dipped into single digits.
Canada scored 24 straight points straddling halftime, going from 39-22 down to 46-39 up in a seven-minute span.
The Tall Blacks answered with an 18-2 run over the next six minutes, including 12 straight points to take a 57-48 lead as Penney, Tait and Horvath carried the scoring load. The hosts were again able to pull within six points with consecutive threes in the final minute of the third period.
Earlier, the T-Blacks came out firing, a three-point barrage including two treys from Cameron and others from Penney and Tait, saw the Kiwis stun the hosts with an 18-6 lead at the 4:52 mark of the first quarter. New Zealand led by as many as 15 points in the first, at 21-6, and led by 12 at quarter time.
The win over Canada, the first against the Canucks since 2002, is a long step from seven days ago when Vucinic and his internationally inexperienced squad were reeling from 15- and 37-point losses against Australia.
“It’s pretty obvious from the scores. The improvement from the execution and the defence has been great, but it’s also the mental state of not letting the first two games get to us,” Vucinic said from Toronto.
“With wins, the confidence is definitely growing and for me as a coach I just have to make sure that we have the right attitude when we step on the court.”
The Tall Blacks travel from Toronto to Ljubljana, Slovenia tomorrow. They play Puerto Rico, Slovenia and Iran, starting Wednesday, at the Alpos Cup tournament, before moving onto Athens for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament from July 14-20.
Jack Donohue International Classic
At Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario
New Zealand Tall Blacks 77 (Kirk Penney 22, Lindsay Tait 13, Nick Horvath 12, Pero Cameron 11) Canada 69 (Rowan Barrett 18)
1Q: 27-15
HT: 39-36 (12-21)
3Q: 62-56 (23-20)
FT: 77-69 (15-13)
