New Zealand enjoyed a heartening 80-59 victory over Mali in a classification game at the FIBA Under 17 Basketball World Cup in Spain, on Friday night.
After trailing 31-30 at half-time New Zealand put together a dominant second half display to run away from the African nation and earn the right to play-off for places 9th-12th at the World Cup.
George Turner had a game to remember – the Auckland wing knocked down 6 from 10 three-pointers on his way to a game-high 22 points whilst also claiming 7 rebounds.
Nic Book put together his customary stat-stuffing effort, amassing 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while his frontcourt partner Julius Halaifonua mustered 13 points and 5 steals. In addition, Tauranga’s Kaia Berridge tallied 9 points on an efficient 3 from 6 shooting, in a solid team effort from the Kiwis against physical opposition.
A single point down at the interval, Dante Matakatea and Book propelled New Zealand into the lead – one they would maintain for the remainder of the contest.
Berridge and Turner made a brace of threes apiece as the Kiwis climbed to a 53-43 lead at three-quarter time – holding Mali to just 12 points in the quarter critical to the advantage.
Turner and Book stretched the New Zealand lead towards 20 points and although Hunter Trego picked up a second technical foul, soon after notching 5 straight points, the Kiwis kept their composure to register a highly satisfying first win at the World Cup.
New Zealand will face another African nation, Egypt in a 9th-12th place classification game on Saturday.
In other news host Spain defeated Australia 70-68 in a quarter-final tie.
Games can be viewed nz.basketball/tv
New Zealand 80 – Turner 22 PTS | Book 18 PTS, 10 REBS & 5 ASSISTS | Halaifonua 13 PTS & 5 STL | Berridge 9 PTS | P Trego 5 PTS | H Trego 5 PTS | Shortt 4 PTS | Matakatea 4 PTS
Mali 59 – M Diallo 15
Full rosters, statistics and live stats can be found at: www.fiba.basketball/world/u17/2022
New Zealand Schedule: (times given are local in New Zealand)
Sat 2 July, vs Canada (L, 46-94) – Re-watch game at http://tinyurl.com/5b9hasjy
Sun 3 July vs Serbia – (L, 120-72) – Re-watch at nz.basketball/tv
Tue 5 July vs France – (L 104-35) – Re-watch at nz.basketball/tv
Weds 6 July vs Lithuania – (L 61-48) – Re-watch at nz.basketball/tv
Fri July 8 vs Mali – (W 80-59) – Watch at nz.basketball/tv
Sat July 9 vs Egypt – (Time TBC) – Watch at nz.basketball/tv
U17 Men’s National Team Roster
Kaia Berridge – Tauranga City Basketball
Nic Book – Canterbury Basketball
George Grant – Basketball Otago
Julius Halaifonua – Harbour Basketball
Dante Matakatea – Basketball Auckland
William Passi – Counties-Manukau Basketball
Kalid Petzer – Basketball Auckland
Brody Perry – Franklin Basketball
Will Shortt – Basketball Auckland
Hunter Trego – New Zealand
Phoenix Trego – New Zealand
George Turner – Counties-Manukau Basketball
Head Coach – Darron Larsen
Assistant Coach – Chris Tupu
Assistant Coach – Jack Williamson
About The FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022
The FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 features the world’s top 16 men’s U17 national team with 56 games played across 9 days from July 2-10 in Malaga, Spain.
As event hosts, Spain gained automatic entry. The remaining 15 teams qualified through regional U16 championships with 2 from Africa, 5 from Europe, 4 from the Americas, and 4 from Asia – with New Zealand earning their place after securing a spot in the recent FIBA U16 Asian Championship.
