The New Zealand flag will fly proudly at the U16 FIBA Asia Cup in 2025!
Both the Under 15 Men and Women have qualified for next year’s tournament, by virtue of silver medals at the Oceania Cup in Canberra this past week.
The U15 Men spilt their two pool games, beating Samoa on opening night 114-70 and falling agonisingly short in overtime battle with Australia the following day.
They would then breeze past Tahiti in their quarter-final, 133-33, setting up a semi-final match up with Tonga.
Lawson Pryor would take control in the semi-final, producing New Zealand’s best individual performance of the tournament. On the back of a 33 point, 7 rebound and 4 assist performance from Pryor, the U15 men would run out victorious and lock in a re-match against the Australians in the Oceania Cup final.
The home side would race out of the blocks – leading by 27 at the half time break. A flurry of three pointers in the fourth quarter was a sign that the U15’s may not be done, but unfortunately the margin was just too big and the Crocs ran away with their third consecutive FIBA Oceania Cup title.
The NZ U15 Men claim silver at the Oceania Cup in Canberra
The U15 Women made a fantastic start to their tournament, defeating Samoa 82-45 and Guam 152-47 in pool play before going down to Australia by just three points.
A second-placed finish in their pool meant they were matched-up with Samoa in the semi-finals.
Led by Imani Rasmussen (13 points, 3 rebounds, 5-6 FG) and an Emilia Ainley double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) they eased past the Samoans, booking their ticket to the big dance.
A re-match against Australia loomed, and much like the U15 Men final – the Aussie’s looked to have learnt their lessons from the previous match up, going wire-to-wire for a convincing 93-44 victory.
Silvers across the board as the U15 Women take home second spot!
A successful FIBA Oceania Cup campaign for both our teams – highlighted by some key individuals earning All-Star Five honours.
Tawhiri Cate was selected as a member of the All-Star Five second team off the back of an impressive week where he averaged 9.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
His teammate Lawson Pryor was named to the All-Star Five first team. Pryor’s average of 19.4 points was good enough to put him amongst the tournament’s top five scorers.
The dynamic duo of Ava Jones (10.8 points, 6.6 rebounds) and Imani Rasmussen (10.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 1.4 blocks) were named to the All-Star first team after stuffing the stat sheet with some impressive performances during the week.
Ava Jones and Imani Rasmussen both featured in the tournament’s All Star Five First Team!
Lawson Pryor named to the Oceania Cup All-Star Five First Team in 2024.
FULL RESULT’S DOWN BELOW:
New Zealand U15 Men’s Results
Group Phase
v Samoa, 114-70 (Cate 18, Hakaraia 16, Pryor 14)
v Australia, 81-92 (Pryor 19, Wilson 14, Cate 13)
Quarter-Final
v Tahiti, 133-33 (Duncan 17, Pryor 15, Sula 14)
Semi-Final
v Tonga, 114-78 (Pryor 33, Hakaraia 19, Couper & Poiho 12)
Final
v Australia, 68-96 (Pryor 16, Joyner 11, Cate 9)
New Zealand U15 Women’s Results
Group Phase
v Samoa, 82-45 (Rasmussen 11, C. Broughton 10, three players 9)
v Guam, 152-47 (Toeleiu 20, Tu’ineau 18, S.Broughton 17)
v Australia, 68-71 (Jones 17, S.Broughton 11, Rasmussen 8)
Semi-Final
v Samoa, 88-40 (Rasmussen 13, Ainley 12, S.Broughton 12, Jones 12)
Final
v Australia, 44-93 (S.Broughton 13, Jones 7, Tu’ineau 7)
