Image: Isaac Fotu front and centre during the Haka at the Stankovic Cup v China, credit: www.sports.sina.com.cn
The Tall Blacks made it a clean sweep through round robin play at the Stankovic Cup in China with a 89-82 win over host nation China to progress through to the final where they will play Mexico and did so on the back of a stunning Isaac Fotu offensive show.
Once again the Tall Blacks were slow starters, trailing throughout most of the first half and indeed they were still behind at three quarter time as China rode a wave of emotion in search of their first win in the tournament in front of a fervent home crowd.
But once again the Tall Blacks showed they are a side building some momentum, at least in the fourth quarter of games, as they finished all over China on the back of a career high 34 in a black singlet from Isaac Fotu.
“My team mates gave me confidence to keep shooting the ball, so that is what I did. I was just feeling it and had great support from my team mates. My focus is usually first and foremost on rebounding and my offence flows from that but tonight I knew I had to step up with Corey not playing, he is our usual go to player so I did think about that before the game for sure.”
Fotu made his 34 points on an extremely efficient 14 of 22 and made all five attempts from the free throw line for good measure. He was unstoppable in the post, accurate on his jump shot and sank a beautiful corner three to ice a performance that earmarks him as a prodigious talent.
Assistant coach Pero Cameron was pleased with the result but again had mixed views on the performance.
“Performance is what matters, but overall winning is exciting, it is what you want to do, it is why you play sport. We were slow out of the blocks and they made a good start, they were good, they made shots, they were tough and motivated but I thought our guys came back and played pretty good down the stretch.
“We seem to be – not getting in a hole, but we are cruising and not putting it together early. That could be combinations, maybe carrying 14 guys, I’m not sure, but our effort is there it is just our application that needs to improve throughout the game.”
And as for Fotu, a player that Cameron is working closely with alongside fellow assistant coach Ross McMains, he was high in his praise.
“He is very capable, he just keeps getting better and better in every game. He scores in so many different ways, he is a very good rebounder and has a knack with the ball. He combines very well with Mika when they are both out there but he was exceptional tonight and hopefully we get more of that in the weeks ahead.”
Fotu was not alone in contributing on a night when Corey Webster was rested, with Everard Bartlett scoring 10 points albeit struggling from long range (1 of 7) and Rob Loe was productive with 9 points and 4 boards in 13 minutes of play and Reuben Te Rangi also had 9 points.
Mika Vukona was in early foul trouble after some contentious calls, including an offensive technical for a bump with the defender as he brought the ball down court, the captain would play just 16 minutes but as he so often does, made some big plays while on the floor, especially when he returned in the final 5 minutes to close the game out.
New Zealand will face Mexico in the tournament final, tip off 11pm NZT on Friday evening. Check the event website (below) for streaming and score updates.
Tall Blacks 89; Fotu 34, Loe 9, Te Rangi 9
China 82; AiLun 22, Han Lin 17,
CLICK HERE for the highlights reel from tonight’s game
http://sports.sina.com.cn/cba/2015-08-06/doc-ifxftkpe2770215.shtml
CLICK HERE for the BOX SCORE
http://cba.sports.sina.com.cn/stankovic/schedule/show/13777/
