The U18 New Zealand Men’s team have opened their FIBA U17 World Cup campaign in ideal fashion, with a dominant 114-94 victory against host nation Turkey in Istanbul on Saturday night.
New Zealand led by as many as 43 points in the third period before cooling off in the closing stages. However, they will take a lot of confidence from the performance – one in which six players scored in double figures.
Oscar Goodman, the MVP at the 2023 Asia Cup, led the way for New Zealand with 26 points on 10/15 shooting, Troy Plumtree racked up a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds, Hayden Jones scored 15, Hunter Te Ratana 14, Lachlan Crate 13 and Ihaka Cate 11 points.
New Zealand shot 53% (34/64) from the field and 42 & (14/33) from beyond the arc, with Hunter Te Ratana converting 3 from 5 from deep. Despite the Turkish front court having a height advantage, the rebounding count went New Zealand’s way 26-18 – as did the assists tally (30-18). Of some concern to coach Leyton Haddleton and his staff, will be the 24 turnovers the Kiwis committed, which Turkey turned into 26 points.
It can be a tricky assignment facing the host country on the opening night, with a large enthusiastic crowd on hand to spur on the locals. That was certainly the case in the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, as a roar greeted the opening score by Turkey.
Locked at six points apiece through the first two minutes, New Zealand then embarked on a 14-2 run that featured a steal and two-handed flush from Crate.
Demonstrating his versatility, Goodman scored 15 points in the opening quarter; scoring in the paint, from transition and twice from beyond the arc. Jones, Crate, Te Ratana and Mana Martin were also successful with triples as the Kiwis carved out a 38-21 quarter time advantage.
Any optimism amongst the home supporters was quashed by another 13-4 run from the Kiwis – their defensive resolve also evident, when Jones recovered from his own mistake with an athletic chasedown block. Te Ratana nailed a pair of threes as part of his 11 points in the quarter, helping propel New Zealand to a 66-37 lead.
With Plumtree earning New Zealand extra possessions with offensive rebounds, James Matthews and Crate were able to capitalise and push the advantage out to 80-44. Plumtree made a pair of triples, Jackson Ball capitalised on some over-aggressive Turkish defence from the charity stripe – and with a Goodman dunk putting an exclamation mark on the third, the Kiwis were 96-56 ahead with a quarter to play.
Turkey finally gave the home fans to something to cheer about in the fourth, as they fought back to win the period 38-18. It was a slightly disappointing finish to the game for the Kiwis, but the end result was the one they desired.
New Zealand next face Argentina ( tip-off 4.30am NZT, Monday 1 July) who were narrow 83-79 winners over the other Group C member, Italy on day one.
Stats:
New Zealand 114 – Goodman 26 PTS & 5 REB & 7 AST | Plumtree 20 PTS & 14 REBS | Jones 15 PTS | Te Ratana 14 PTS |Crate 13 PTS | Cate 11 PTS | Ball 6 PTS | Martin 5 PTS | Matthews 3 PTS | Reed 1 PT
Turkey 94 – A Akbas 12 PTS | M Kocagozoglu 11 PTS | M Paçaci 11 PTS
Box Score: https://bbnz.link/U17WC_NZLvTUR
Quarter Scores: 38-21, 28-16, 30-19, 18-38
FIBA U7 Men’s World Cup – New Zealand Schedule and Results
NZL v Turkey – WON 114-94
NZL v Argentina – 4.30am NZT, Monday 1 July
NZL v Italy – 5.00am NZT, Wednesday 3 July
NZ Men’s U17 Squad at FIBA U17 World Cup
Jackson Ball, Basketball Hawkes Bay/ Hawkes Bay Hawks
Ihaka Cate, Canterbury Basketball Association/ Canterbury Rams
Lachlan Crate, Basketball Manawatu / Manawatu Jets
Gus Dallow, Harbour Basketball Association / Auckland Tuatara
Oscar Goodman, Basketball Manawatu / NBA Global Academy
Hayden Jones, Nelson Basketball Association / Nelson Giants
Jackson Kiss, Basketball Auckland / Auckland Tuatara
Mana Martin, Canterbury Basketball Association/ Canterbury Rams
James Matthews, Nelson Basketball Association / Nelson Giants
Troy Plumtree, Wellington Basketball Association /Wellington Saints
Jameer Reed, Harbour Basketball Association / Auckland Tuatara
Hunter Te Ratana, Waitakere West Auckland Basketball / Auckland Tuatara
