The Tall Blacks have dominated Hong Kong in their second game of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers tonight, with a 88-49 victory over their opponents in front of a pumped up Eventfinda Stadium crowd.
After the Tall Blacks pushed out to a 27-7 advantage in the first – fueled by a 19-0 run to close the quarter – Hong Kong was competitive in the second and third quarters, but we unable to reduce the deficit. A 20-11 fourth quarter by New Zealand, led by Tyrell Harrison’s 18 points & 8 rebounds, saw the Kiwis take home a comfortable victory.
Dan Fotu scored 13 points & 6 rebounds, Tobias Cameron 9, with Sam Timmins and Max Darling tallying 8 points apiece as the Kiwis dominated inside. The home team scored 56 of their points in the painted area and won the rebounding battle 61-31, with Harrison grabbing 4 of New Zealand’s 19 offensive boards. The Kiwis did well to limit their turnovers (8) in this one, but shot just 6/31 from beyond the arc at a 19% clip, and 45.5% overall.
The game also saw the national team debuts for a pair of 17-year-olds in Hayden Jones (7 points) and Julius Halaifonua (4 points), making them respectively the fourth and eighth youngest players to appear for the Tall Blacks. With Tobias Cameron also scoring his first points in the black jersey, the future of the New Zealand men’s national team is looking bright.
For Hong Kong, Duncan Reid registered 13 points (6/20 shooting) and 5 rebounds, while Oliver Xu scored 9, Sui Hung Yeung 8 and Tin Chi Hon 7. As a team, Hong Kong shot 19/66 from the floor (29%) and lacked the size to counter New Zealand’s inside game; with Reid the tallest player for Hong Kong at 6’8”.
Tall Blacks Coach, Pero Cameron was satisfied with the squad’s effort tonight, including the successful debuts of a pair of young Tall Blacks.
“I felt the starting group got us out to a tough defensive start, it may not have shown on the scoreboard in the first five minutes, but it set the way for a good close for our guys coming off the bench. In that first quarter we were able to get up 20 and then maintain that throughout the rest of the game. So good job by our leaders,” says Cameron.
“Our two 17-year-olds – Julius and Hayden – I thought their first couple of touches were a little bit nerve-wracking; Hayden was able to score on his second touch. I think it’s always good with these windows, when our leaders and [first choice] players are not available, that the younger guys are able to step up and get that experience. And playing for your country, wearing the black is a lot tougher than you anticipate, so I felt they took that opportunity and played well on both ends – and everybody is proud of them.”
Harrison says the Tall Blacks came into this game with a gameplan of using their size and physical advantages against a smaller Hong Kong squad, which allowed him to dominate onside.
“We just tried to come in with the mindset of pushing the ball, setting a fast pace and trying to rush them on offence. And then just try to be really physical with them; try to speed up their game, make them shoot different shots and I think [that tactic] worked out for us,” says Harrison.
“[Offensive rebounding] is just one area of my game I try to focus on, keep putting pressure on the O boards and trying to be physical with the other bigs. We knew going into this game that we had the height advantage, so we tried to keep attacking them that way.”
The Tall Blacks now have a break in international action, with their next tournament the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece from 2-7 July, where they face Group A opponents Slovenia and Croatia in a battle for a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Tall Blacks will also square off against the Philippines (in Manila) and Chinese Taipei (in Christchurch) for Window 2 of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in November 2024.
Stats:
New Zealand 88 – Harrison 18 PTS & 8 REB | Fotu 13 PTS & 6 REB | T. Cameron 9 PTS & 5 REB | Timmins 8 PTS & 10 REB | Darling 8 PTS | Jones 7 PTS | Rusbatch 7 PTS | Britt 5 PTS | Prewster 4 PTS & 6 REB | Halaifonua 4 PTS | F. Cameron 3 PTS & 5 REB | Brown 2 PTS
Hong Kong 49 – Reid 13 PTS & 5 REB | Xu 9 PTS | Sui Hung Yeung 8 PTS | Tin Chi Hon 7 PTS
Quarter scores: 26-7, 53-26, 68-38, 88-49
Full box score: http://bbnz.link/NZLvHKG
FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, Window 1
23 Feb 2024 – NZL vs Chinese Taipei (WON 89-69)
25 Feb 2024 – NZL vs Hong Kong (WON 88-49)
Tall Blacks Squad, 2024 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers (Hong Kong)
Taylor Britt, Canterbury Rams
Walter Brown, Tasmania JackJumpers / Canterbury Rams
Flynn Cameron, Melbourne United / Taranaki Steelformers Airs
Tobias Cameron, Taranaki Steelformers Airs
Max Darling, BNZ Breakers / Canterbury Rams
Dan Fotu, BNZ Breakers / Nelson Giants
Tyrell Harrison, Brisbane Bullets
Julius Halaifonua, NBA Academy
Hayden Jones, Nelson Giants
Dion Prewster
Ethan Rusbatch, Franklin Bulls
Sam Timmins, Sydney Kings / Franklin Bulls
