The Tall Blacks have cruised to victory against Syria last night, coming out of the gates with a dominant first quarter and never looking back in their impressive 97-58 Asia Cup win.
This win moves New Zealand into the quarter-final round of the Asia Cup, booking themselves a date with Korea on Thursday 21 July.
Taine Murray led the way with 16 points for the second game in a row, while Flynn Cameron had 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in only 14 minutes of action. The two Sam’s – Timmins and Mennenga – chipped in 12 and 11 respectively, while Britt had a solid 10 points on 4/4 shooting and 6 assists.
Syria were paced by Omar Idelbi and Anthouny Bakar with 10 points apiece, the only players to score in double figures against the New Zealand defence.
Cameron opened the first period in impressive fashion, scoring the first six points of the game off a variety of moves; an offensive rebound and putback, a drive to the bucket followed by a steal and layup. That lead extended to 12-0 thanks to triples from Perrot-Hunt and Smith-Milner; the Tall Blacks defence holding Syria to a demoralising 0-7 over the first four minutes.
The introduction of the second unit did little to dim the Kiwi’s run, with Murray drilling a pair of triples and Britt marshalling the team with his 4 assists – New Zealand leading 25-6 after the first quarter.
The strong form continued for the Kiwis into the second quarter, with triples from Cameron , Perrott-Hunt and Fahrensohn early in the period; the Tall Blacks defence forcing a rattled Syria into multiple unforced errors and travels over the half and limiting them to 5-16 shooting.
The Kiwis ended the half comfortably up 53-21, going 8-18 from downtown, and with an incredible 17 of their 18 shots assisted – Britt leading the way with 5.
The second half saw New Zealand’s offence stall, with the Kiwis held to 2-7 shooting in the early going, with errant passes leading to broken plays. Britt helped to steady the ship; the sparkplug off the bench making a trio of driving layups in the quarter. Despite this, the Tall Blacks were outscored 16-17 in the period while missing all 5 of their three pointers.
The Kiwis were able to re-ignite their offense in the fourth with a 28 point quarter, the highlight play being a stunning alley-oop play between Cameron and Timmins that resulted in a three-point play. An ankle injury to Timmins shortly afterwards will no doubt be concerning for New Zealand heading into their next game, as the starting centre plays a key defensive role on the team in addition to his inside scoring.
Following this, Coach Cameron dug deep into his bench to give extended minutes to Hunt and Keil; the latter scoring all seven of his points in the fourth, matching Murray’s seven in the period as the team registered a solid 97-58 victory.
New Zealand shot 50% from the field for the game while registering 27 assists on 36 made shots. Their defence was perhaps the most impressive part of tonight’s game, holding Syria to just 35% shooting and 4/21 from downtown, while forcing them into 24 turnovers.
The Tall Blacks now advance to the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals, where they take on Korea on Friday 22 July @ 1am NZT – watch live on Whakaata Maori.
Stats:
New Zealand 92 – Murray 16PTS | Cameron 14PTS, 8REB |Timmins 12PTS | Mennenga 11PTS | Britt 10PTS & 6ASS | Perrott-Hunt 8PTS | Hunt 7PTS & 6REB | Keil 7PTS | Fahrensohn 5PTS | Davidson 4PTS | Smith-Milner 3PTS & 5REB
Syria 75 – Idelbi 10PTS | Bakar 10PTS | Issa 8PTS | Adribe 8PTS
Quarter scores: 25-6, 53-21, 69-38, 97-58.
Full Stats here:
Tall Blacks Asia Cup Schedules (All Times NZT)
- Vs India, 4pm NZT Wed 13 July (W 100-47)
- Vs Lebanon, 1am NZT, Sat 16 July (L 72-86)
- Vs Philippines, 1am NZT, Mon 18 July (W 92-75)
- Vs Syria, 10.30pm NZT, Tue 19 July (W 97-58)
- Vs Korea, 1am NZT, Fri 22 July
Tall Blacks Squad – FIBA Asia Cup 2022
Flynn Cameron, Riverside California (5 caps)
Isaac Davidson, NZ Breakers / Franklin Bulls (4 caps)
Jordan Hunt, Hawkes Bay Hawks (5 caps)
Kane Keil, Franklin Bulls (3 caps)
Kruz Perrott-Hunt, University of South Dakota (6 caps)
Max Darling, Canterbury Rams (2 caps)
Sam Mennenga, Davidson College (4 caps)
Sam Timmins, NZ Breakers / Otago Nuggets (16 caps)
Taine Murray, University of Virginia (7 caps)
Taki Fahrensohn, Auckland Tuatara (7 caps)
Taylor Britt, Canterbury Rams (8 caps)
Tohi Smith-Milner, Sandringham Sabres (43 caps)
