The New Zealand U16 Men’s team have dominated Jordan from start to finish at the FIBA U16 Asian Championships in Doha tonight, registering an emphatic 119-45 win for their second victory of the tournament.
The Kiwis used a deadly combination of lockdown defence and hot outside shooting to build a 45-point lead at the half-time break, limiting Jordan to just four made field goals – while New Zealand sank nine triples at a 64% clip. They cooled off in the third, before exploding for a 33-point scoring barrage in the final period to register the lopsided 74-point win.
Six Kiwis scored in double figures, led by Jackson Ball’s 15 points on a perfect 4-4 shooting from downtown. Mana Martin and Merrick Rillstone both added 13 points and 3 steals each, while Oscar Goodman added 12 and 5. Troy Plumtree racked up an 11 point, 10 rebound double-double and Jameer Reed also tallied 11. James Matthews, Lachlan Crate and Hunter Te Ratana each added 9.
For Jordan, Mohammad Ibrahem scored 11 points, Faisal Shawwa 7 and Omar Hijazi 6. The Jordanians endured a rough night on all fronts, shooting just 25% from the field and coughing up 32 turnovers; which New Zealand directly turned into 45 points.
The Kiwis were again dominant on the boards, using their size and superior positioning to earn the 45-24 rebounding advantage. Shooting 65% from the field, New Zealand racked up 51 fast break points on the night – their relentless attack allowing them to score 70 points in the paint. They also saw an improved effort from beyond the arc, hitting 11 triples at a solid 50% clip.
The game began with Jordan briefly holding a 3-2 lead thanks to a triple by Hamzah Shaaban, before New Zealand went on a 17-0 run – fuelled by two triples each from Jackson Ball and Gus Dallow – to take a 19-3 lead with four minutes remaining. A 31-8 lead after one saw New Zealand shooting an impressive 7-11 from downtown, while holding Jordan to just 2-13 shooting from the field.
Things didn’t get any better for Jordan in the second, as the Kiwis used an opening 10-0 run to further build out their lead. Remarkably, the Kiwi defence held Jordan without a single field goal for the first eight minutes of this quarter, with Jordan’s drought broken only by a desperation heave from deep by Karim Aljaibat. It was a dream half for the Kiwis as they shot 66% from the field – with all 12 players getting on the scoreboard – with their defence holding Jordan to 4/24 shooting (16.6%) and forcing 15 turnovers.
The Kiwis fell back down to earth in the third period; some sloppy play on both ends of the ball seeing Jordan score 15 points in the period versus New Zealand’s 23. But the onslaught continued in the final period as New Zealand went 12-17 from the field, racking up 33 points against Jordan’s 12. The win all but assures that the Kiwis will progress directly to the Quarter-final round on Friday as the top-ranked team in Group C, with only game remaining in Group play – versus bottom-placed Bahrain.
New Zealand takes on Bahrain tomorrow night from 8:30pm NZT. Watch it live at www.youtube.com/fiba
Stats:
New Zealand 83 – Ball 15 PTS & 5 REB & 3 STL | Rillstone 13 PTS & 3 STL | Martin 13 PTS & 3 STL | Goodman 12 PTS & 5 REB | Reed 11 PTS | Plumtree 10 PTS & 11 REB | Matthews 9 PTS | Crate 9 PTS | Te Ratana 9 PTS | Dallow 8 PTS | Cate 7 PTS | Jones 2 PTS & 5 AST |
Jordan 81 – Ibrahem 11 PTS | Shawwa 7 PTS | Hijazi 6 PTS
Box Score: http://bbnz.link/U16MensVsJordan
Quarter scores: 33-8, 63-18, 86-33, 119-45
FIBA U16 Men’s Asian Championships – NZ Results
17 Sep – NZL vs Korea (WON 83-81)
18 Sep – NZL vs Jordan (WON 119-45)
19 Sep – NZL vs Bahrain
U16 Men’s Squad, FIBA U16 Asian Championship
Jackson Ball, Basketball Hawkes Bay
Ihaka Cate, Canterbury Basketball
Lachlan Crate, Basketball Manawatu
Gus Dallow, Harbour Basketball Association
Oscar Goodman, Basketball Taranaki
Hayden Jones, Nelson Basketball Association
Mana Martin, Canterbury Basketball
James Matthews, Nelson Basketball Association
Troy Plumtree, Wellington Basketball Association
Jameer Reed, Harbour Basketball Association
Merrick Rillstone, Waikato Basketball
Hunter Te Ratana, Counties Manukau
