LACEY LOWDOWN

The Aon New Zealand Under 17 team has been officially named today ahead of their tour of the Philippines, departing on Wednesday.

They will be traveling to Manilla in preparation for the Under 16 FIBA Asia Championships, to be held in October although FIBA has yet to announce the host nation.

The Kiwi’s will be hosted by Ateneo University, which is one of the highest profile universities in the Philippines, known for its academic and sporting reputation.

The visit has been made possible through the help of Tab Baldwin. The former Tall Blacks coach has established himself in the Philippines since 2014, where he was appointed head coach of the famous Gilas, the national Filipino team.

Baldwin has since stepped down from the Gilas Head Coach role. While he still advises the Filipino national programme, his coaching duties have been employed by Ateneo University as the schools premiere’s men’s basketball coach.

Head Coach of the Aon New Zealand Under 17 team, Dave Bublitz, says Tab Baldwin has been instrumental in arranging this amazing opportunity for this young New Zealand team.
“Tab has set up an eight day programme consisting of seven games against local universities, high schools and two games against the Filipino National U 16 team.
“The squad will stay, eat and play in the University compound. The athletes will experience the style of basketball that they will most likely come up against in the FIBA Asia Championship, as well as acclimatizing to the local cuisine and the different levels of heat and humidity.
“It is an exciting opportunity for the athletes to cement their spots for the Asia Champs in October.”

Aon New Zealand Under 17 Men’s Squad:

· Shalom Broughton (Tauranga Basketball Association)
· Tom Cowie (Southland Basketball Association)
· Mitchell Dance (Harbour Basketball Association)
· Haven Dixon (Wellington Basketball Association)
· Hayen Druce (Harbour Basketball Association)
· Kainoa Lepou (Waikato Basketball Association)
· Cullen Marsters (Waikato Basketball Association)
· Louis Oskam Waitaha (Canterbury Basketball Association)
· Sharne Perham (Rotorua Basketball Association)
· Te Tuaio Rautangata (Waikato Basketball Association)
· Anzac Rissetto (Auckland Basketball Services Ltd)
· Jaylin To’o (Waikato Basketball Association)
· Marvin Williams-Dunn (Auckland Basketball Services Ltd)

Staff:
· David Bublitz – Head Coach
· Doug Courtney – Assistant Coach
· Aaron Young – Assistant Coach and Stats
· Delwyn Whale – ManagerNZ Under 17’s

It was medal games for three of our four international teams on Saturday.

Both the Men’s and Women’s teams faced Australia in the Gold Medal Games at the FIBA Oceania Champs in Guam but both had to settle for second place.

The women were competitive throughout going down 81-60 whilst the Men, seriously outsized lost 93-55.

U18 Men

Only Oscar Oswald, named in the Tournament Five, and Kruz Perrott-Hunt provided the Aussies with any problems. Oswald finished with 20 points and 6 rebounds on an impressive 8 from 10 shooting night. Perrott-Hunt landed 5 from 11 attempts on his way to 12 points.

The Kiwis were smashed 49-33 on the boards and were also forced into 27 turnovers.

Meanwhile in Perth the U16 Boys went down 95-83 against Victoria Metro in the bronze medal game at the U16 Australian Championships. The Girls reversed the losing trend finishing a creditable fifth after beating New South Wales Country 73-54.

U18 Women

In Guam the Women made a promising start shading the first quarter 23-2

Hutt Valley’s Leah Mafua splashed a couple of shots early in the second but Australia were ahead 30-27 at the mid point of the second.

Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 5 straight points to tie things up at 32 each but Australia scored the last seven points in the half to lead 39-32 at the main break.

Charlotte Whittaker scored inside as did Tsubasa Nisbet but Australia stretched its lead to double figures and beyond – 50-38 at which point coach Jody Cameron called a timeout.

Leger-Walker scored in transition but the momentum was with Australia and despite scores from Lauryn Hippolite and Nisbet led 59-44 at three-quarter time.

The NZ scoring ground to a halt in the early stages of the fourth and they soon found themselves twenty points adrift.

To their credit NZ didn’t allow the lead to blow out but giving up 21 offensive rebounds and only converting 2 from 21 triples will be stats the coaching staff will look to address before the Asian Champs next year.

Whittaker (14pts), Mafua (11pts/6rebs) and Leger-Walker (21pts/5rebs/4assists) were outstanding in a losing cause.

U16 Boys

The Under 16 Boys trailed Victoria Metro 45-39 at half time – the dependable Mac Stodart with 15 points and Harry Payne on 10 points.

NZ shaded the third by a basket – 69-65 with ten minutes to play -Stodart playing a sterling hand with 14 points in the period.

The Vics took the game away from NZ with a 7-0 burst to open the fourth and were never threatened thereafter.

Stodart finished an impressive tournament with a game high 35 points (he averaged 17.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game). Payne was next best with 16 points at 18 points per outing. Reihana Maxwell-Topia had 9 points in this one and averaged 7.3 points and 9.1 rebounds while point guard Ezrah Vaigafa threatened a triple double with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.

Coach Cameron commented, “ I was pleased with the intensity and commitment our girls played with tonight. We had a few calls not go our way, however we missed a lot of shots and struggled to keep them of the defensive boards in the second half. We’ll look forward to preparing for the FIBA U18 Asian Champs next year.”

U16 Girls

The Girls led New South Wales Country 31-29 at the interval with eight players on the scoresheet, captain Ashlee Strawbridge the most on 6 points.

They then proceeded to dominate the third stanza 22-11 – Emme Shearer and Caitlin O’Connell scoring all but three of the points between them.

The Kiwis didn’t allow NSW a sniff in the final period and finished the tournament strongly after being knocked out at the quarter-final stage.

Shearer led all scorers with 20 points (averaged 12 points per game), O’Connell had 11 points and Parris Mason 10 points.

Waita Jennings was strong with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists with the teams leading rebounders Jess Moors (6 rebs) and Jazz Kailahi-Fulu (8pts/9rebs) also to the fore.

It was a double dose of Samoa for New Zealand Under 18 Men and Women in the semi-finals of the FIBA Under 17 Oceania Championships in Guam on Saturday.

The Men were first on the floor and after a tentative first half put their collective feet on the accelerator to win 96-58.

Canterbury guard Max de Geest landed a couple of first quarter threes to help New Zealand to a 22-12 opening stanza lead.

Samoa closed to within five (36-31) late in the second but a three from Palmy North’s Cooper Boyce-Towler in the shadows of half-time gave NZ a 42-34 lead at the interval. De Geest (8 pts) and Kruz Perrott-Hunt (7pts) led the Kiwi scoring effort at the break.

Back to back baskets from Matt O’Connell took NZ out to 54-36 four minutes into the third period. The lead stretched to twenty points when Perrott-Hunt converted from beyond the arc – Isaac Faamausili in transition and Joseph Ahie from the perimeter capped off a fine stretch for NZ ahead 74-42 at three-quarter time.

The final quarter was purely academic as New Zealand prepare for Australia in the Final on Saturday – a place in the 2018 Asia Champs already assured.

De Geest with 19 points (5/9 3PG) led the NZ scoring as Perrott-Hunt O’Connell, Faamausili and Oscar Oswald all made double digit contributions.

The New Zealand Women’s team are also heading to the Asia Champs after defeating Samoa 81-36 in their semi-final.

Samoa led 13-11 after a scrappy, low scoring opening quarter before Lauryn Hippolite and Charlisse-Leger Walker broke the Samoan defensive shackles to forge a 23-15 lead.

Three consecutive Charlotte Whittaker buckets kept NZ in the ascendancy but Samoa were still in the hunt at half-time trailing 35-19. The Cantabrian duo of Hippolite (8pts) and Whittaker (12pts) led the scoring effort at the interval.

Tsubasa Nisbet and Leah Mafua extended the NZ lead and with Whittaker dominating the defensive boards the advantage began to grow – 49-21 at the mid point of the second.

Hippolite landed back to back threes as the Kiwi lead reached alarming proportions for Samoan fans – 60-23 at three-quarter time – no way back for Samoa in the fourth.

Whittaker (22p/11r) and Nisbet (10p/12r) both finished with double doubles while Mafua, Hippolite and Charlisse Leger-Walker made double figure contributions.

Like the Men it will be Australia to play in the final on Saturday.

The New Zealand Boys made a fast start in their semi-final encounter with Queensland South at the U16 Australian State Champs, the Kiwis out to a 51-43 half-time lead – Harry Payne (15pts) and Mac Stodart (13pts) leading the way.

A disappointing third quarter ensued as New Zealand was outscored 20-11 to trail 63-62 at the last break. – Reihana Maxwell-Topia scoring seven of the eleven points.

When NZ slipped 8 points behind three minutes into the final stanza coach Zico Coronel needed a timeout.

Stodart scored after the restart but the boys in black soon slipped ten points behind – the Kiwis looked out of gas.

Stodart and Maxwell-Topia scored on consecutive plays but NZ were still 9 down with three to play.

Sam Jenkins made a three as did Payne – Queensland’s turn for a timeout leading 84-78 with 54 seconds to play.

Queensland converted free throws from the ensuing possession and New Zealand’s quest for a grand-final place was buried going down 87-80.

Payne and Stodart scored 21 points apiece, Maxwell-Topia had a double double of 14 points and 11 rebounds while Ezrah Vaigafa was busy with 10 assists and 5 steals.

A bronze medal game awaits the team on Saturday against Victoria Metro

The Under 16 Girls will play-off for 5th and 6th after defeating Western Australia Metro in the late game on Friday.

NZ were well served by Rotorua’s Waita Jennings who came up with a double double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Caitlin O’Connell scored 13 points and the J Squad got on the boards again – Jazz Kailahi-Fulu nabbed 10 rebounds (plus 12 points) and Jess Moors secured nine.

They meet NSW Country on Saturday.

While the New Zealand Under 18 Men and Women were enjoying a day off in tropical Guam the Under 16’s were still hard at work in Perth.

It was quarter-finals day at the U16 Australian State Champs with the Girls facing No 1 ranked Victoria Metro in the late game and the Boys up against New South Wales Metro.

It is not often New Zealand finish top of their pool at a State Champs but that is exactly what the Zico Coronel coached Boys team did. Their reward was not one they probably expected at the outset – a match up against traditional powerhouse New South Wales Metro.

No NSW team is a poor one – and although they finished fourth in their pool they would be dangerous opponents.

And so it proved as New Zealand were forced to come from 7 points down – 59-52 early in the final period.

Mac Stodart then scored the next 5 points followed by a brace of baskets from Harry Payne to tie the scores with 7 minutes to play – 61 points each.

Stodart and Sam Jenkins landed threes and crucially 6 from 8 free throws were sunk as the boys in black outscored the Sky Blues 13-5 in the closing minutes to win 74-68.

Earlier the first half was tight – NSW 38-35 ahead at the interval. Payne joined Stodart on nine points at the break with Reihana Maxwell-Topia next best on six.

An even third stanza kept the difference at three points – 55-52 with Stoddart and Payne again the main providers for the Kiwis.

The pair finished with 26 and 20 points respectively – point guard Ezrah Vaigafa a useful 7 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists as the Kiwis progressed to the semi-final.

The Under 16 Girls went down 67-48 to the highly fancied Victoria Metro in their quarter-final tie.

New Zealand trailed in each quarter- 31-18 at half-time and 51-30 at the three-quarter mark before edging the last frame by two points.

Waiata Jennings put together an impressive stats line of 12 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals. Emme Shearer was also in double figures with 10 points and Sophie Adams notched 9 points.

The New Zealand effort was hampered by 34 turnovers, the girls now playing for spots 5-8 on Friday and Saturday.

There were more good results for the New Zealand age group teams playing abroad on Wednesday as the Under 16 Boys gained the distinction of ending pool play as top dogs and both U18 teams eased into the semi-finals.

We are used to classing ourselves as underdogs on the international stage due to our relatively small population.

However on Day 3 of the 2017 Fiba Under 17 Oceania Championships in Guam the New Zealand Women’s team could regard themselves as big shots and certainly favourites.

They faced Palau and I have to confess I had no idea where in the Pacific this tiny nation is located. A quick search on Google Maps and you find Palau nearer the Philippines than any of its major Oceania neighbours.

Boasting a population of just 27,000 – approximately the same as Levin – the Palauans, not surprisingly, were no match for the Kiwis outclassed 135-8.

Thirty five steals attained by New Zealand emphasized the gulf in ability as seven players helped themselves to double digit scores led by Wellingtonian Lawrin Tipene (26pts), Cantabrian Tsubasa Nisbet (21pts) and Harbours Keeley Tini (20pts).

The win means the team finished pool play with a 3-0 record and advance to a semi-final match up with Samoa on Friday.

The Men also advanced to a semi-final encounter with Samoa after thumping the Marshall Islands 125-33. The Marshall Islands are big compared with Palau having a population as large as Whangerai!!

Canterbury guard Max de Geest led the way with 19 points and others to make double figure contributions were Joseph Ahie (15pts), Kruz Perrott-Hunt (13pts), Taiaroa Flavell (13pts), Matt O’Connell (11pts) and Tom Higgins (10pts).

Both teams have a day off on Thursday.

The NZ Under 16 Girls had a win and a loss on Day 4 of the Australian state Champs in Perth. In the morning they defeated Northern Territory 79-49 but in the later game went down in overtime – 75-69 against South Australia Metro.

Mid Canterbury’s Sophie Adams scored 15 points and Waikato’s Dominique Stephens 14 points to lead the scoring against NT.

All 10 players featured in the scoring column as coach Natalie Visger shared out the court time mindful that the team faced a more challenging opponent in the shape of South Australia Metro later in the day.

That decision proved to be sound as an overtime encounter eventuated. It was close throughout but the Kiwis were outscored 14-8 in the extra five minutes after the scores were locked 61 apiece in regulation.

Emme Shearer led all scorers with 21 points, supported by Stephens and Waita Jennings with 11 points each.

The double J’s led the rebounding count – Jess Moors corralled ten and Jazz Kailahi-Fulu eleven.

The NZ Girls finished fourth in Pool B with a 3-3 record.

Also in a late game the NZ Boys finished top of Pool B with a 5-1 record after comfortably beating Australia Capital Territories 82-54.

Coach Zico Coronel was able to put some of his leading lights on an easy workload allowing Robert Coman to grab extra minutes and lead the team with 18 points. Taine Murray added 16 points with Cian Emery and Sam Jenkins making a dozen points each.

Tuesday was another good day for the New Zealand age group teams playing abroad although the Men in Guam had to work hard for their success.

On Day 2 of the 2017 Fiba Under 17 Oceania Championships the New Zealand Men’s team was given an almighty scare by hosts Guam.

The guard orientated Guam team were a constant threat from the perimeter making 11 from 23 triples at a very respectable 48%.

NZ were far less efficient in that department making just 4 from 13 (31%). In contrast they bossed the boards to the tune of 47 to 28 with Auckland’s Tom Higgins securing 12 of them – plus 14 points.

Guam led early doors 19-16 and were still well in contention at three-quarter time only trailing 65-60. A strong fourth from the Kiwis did the trick – but it wasn’t easy

Isaac Faamausili led the scoring with 15 points (7/9FG) and he was ably assisted by Cooper Boyce-Towler (11pts), Oscar Oswald (10pts/8rebs) and Max De Geest (12pts).

It was a far more straight-forward outing for NZ Women defeating New Caledonia 110-31, having led 65-19 at half-time.

Olivia O’Neill had a unique double double scoring just 2 points but dishing 13 assists to compliment 18 rebounds in the win. Grace Hunter, Amiee Book, Tsubasa Nisbet, Charlotte Whittaker and the Lauryn’s, Mapusua and Hippolite, all managed double figures.

In Perth the NZ Under 16 Boys had a double assignment with the key match up being the morning encounter with Queensland North both teams boasting 3-0 records in Pool B at the Australian State Championships.

The Kiwis looked in control of proceedings with a 71-61 lead early in the fourth quarter but were forced to withstand a fierce Queensland onslaught in the closing stages.

Queensland edged ahead 78-77 with under 4 minutes to play but when point guard Ezrah Vaigafa gave the Kiwis an 84-80 lead with 58 seconds left all looked under control.

However Queensland scored on their next two possessions to tie the game at 84 apiece.

It was left to Rangitoto College and Harbour guard Harry Payne to seal the win connecting with a three with just 4 seconds left to secure a notable win.

Payne led the NZ scoring with 22 points and was ably supported by Vaiagafa (16/8r/4a) and 16 points apiece from Sam Jenkins and Mac Stodart. Southlander Stodart also secured a game high 15 rebounds.

In the late game on Tuesday NZ Boys encountered an over physical South Australia Metro and went down 83-65. Mac Stodart continued his good form with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Harry Payne was next best with 13 points, Ezrah Vaigafa contributed 10 points and Sam Jenkins produced a handy 9 points and 7 rebounds.

New Zealand U16 Girls improved to 2-2 with a 66-50 victory against Queensland North.

A 21-7 opening burst from the Kiwis proved the difference as only two points separated the two sides over the remaining three periods.

Westlake Girls guard Jess Moors led the effort with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Other notable performers included Jazz Kailahi-Fulu (12pts), Sophie Adams (13pts) and Dominique Stephens (6 points and 10 rebounds).

Large victories were the feature on a successful day for the four New Zealand teams in action overseas on Monday.

On Day 1 of the 2017 Fiba Under 17 Oceania Championships New Zealand Men were far too strong for Tahiti winning 106-36. The Women also won by a ton defeating hosts Guam 139-34.

Harbour forward Keeley Tini, Canterbury guard Amiee Book and Wellingtonian Lawrin Tipene each scored 20 points for the Women. All 12 players featured in the points column on the stats sheet as coach Jody Cameron experimented with various combinations.

Men’s coach Miles Pearce split the minutes pretty evenly amongst his 12 players with all playing between 13 and 19 minutes.

Cantabrian guard Max de Geest led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds; Tom Higgins had 14 points/9 rebounds with another three players scoring 9 points – Matt O’Connell, Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Cooper Boyce-Towler.

Over in Perth the NZ Under 16 Boys made it three from three with an emphatic 96-63 victory against WA Country at the Australian state Championships.

Reihana Maxwell-Topia vacuumed up 20 rebounds to go with 8 points whilst fellow Harbour player Harry  Payne led all scorers with 19 points.

The Boys have enjoyed an average 28+ points differential in their three wins to date – Payne averaging 21 points per outing. He was joined in double figures on Monday by Mac Stodart (16pts), Sam Jenkins (16pts) and Ezrah Vaigafa (15pts/10 assists).

Having suffered two defeats on the first two days the Under 16 Girls, led by double digit contributions rom Emme Shearer, Waiata Jennings, Jazz Kailahi-Fulu and Caitlin O’Connell secured a much needed win beating WA Country 91-58.

Jess Moors led the rebounding count with 11 and Jennings the assists category with 7.

Photo courtesy of Jolene Cartwright

The Anchor Junior Tall Blacks threw off the shackles in a dominant performance at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Cairo this morning, defeating Mali 87-63, posting the biggest winning margin of any game on the day.

The win was built on the back of a stellar performance from Wellingtonian Taane Samuel, the athletic big man posting 24 points and 9 rebounds and getting great support from fellow big Tai Wynyard (17 & 13).

Head Coach Daryl Cartwright was proud of his charges tonight, as they showed great character after a tough week in Cairo.

“It has been a tough week, with three close losses where we have been in those games and not get the results. Today we felt we needed a dominant performance, we wanted to put the game away by halftime and avoid a dogfight. We played good team basketball and were able to build a lead through our execution as well as defensive pressure.”

Samuel stepped up when given his opportunity as Sam Waardenburg found himself in early foul trouble and would go on to play just 10 minutes, thanks largely to the productivity of Samuel.

“Sam got into foul trouble and then struggled to get into rhythm tonight and Taane played well off the bench and was our leading scorer, so we got more minutes out of him and we didn’t need to play Sam so much in the four spot and gave us the chance to play Angus McWilliam a bit more tonight and Callum also in those forward positions.”

Cartwright said his players had shown great resolve to put the disappointment of earlier in the week behind them. Plus it helped with the roster being as close to fully fit and healthy as they have been all tournament, finally shaking the effects of the stomach virus thanks largely to the rest day.

“We had moved on from that, tonight was about not being complacent, we needed to prove that we were in those close games with the top teams for a reason, that we are a quality side. We might have missed the top eight but we wanted to make a point that we feel there is separation from our team and the likes of Mali and wanted to show that on the scoreboard with a dominant performance. Tonight was about being mentally focused, not coming out flat. We wanted to put them away, play well and prove a point to ourselves as well. Winning this game puts us in the bracket for 9 to 12, we have a goal of getting that ninth place and we need to win one more game to give ourselves a shot at that.”

Cartwright was not overly concerned about an outside shooting percentage of just 24% (4 of 17), with the main focus tonight being work in the paint.

“It was a dominant performance by Taane and Tai inside. It is nice when we get that production from our bigs, we need to play inside out, that is our strength to open up space for our shooters. While some of the shots we took weren’t great – we didn’t run a lot of sets for outside looks tonight so that percentage is not too much of a concern as a lot of it was end of shot clock situations.”

Others to shine for the New Zealanders were guards Quinn Clinton and Isaac Letoa, with Clinton finding his shooting form securing 11 points on just six shots, while Letoa had a game high nine assists as he found his scorers in the paint, with Flynn Cameron also dishing off five dimes.

Next up at 2am tomorrow morning for the Anchor supported side is Puerto Rico, a tough challenge but one with big rewards, with a place in the 9th 10th match on the line for the winner.

“We play Puerto Rico next, I am watching tape of their game against Germany and they challenged them. They were only three points back in the fourth quarter before the score blew out. They will be tough, they are smaller than us and guard orientated so it will be a job to stop their offence from their guards and use the strength of our bigs against them.”

Anchor Junior Tall Blacks 87
Samuel 24/ 9r, Wynyard 17/13r, Clinton 11, Letoa 7/9a, Aitcheson 7, F Cameron 5/5a, McWilliam 4, McRae 4, McDonald 3, T Cameron 3, Waardenburg 2

Mali 63
Traore 19, Keita 12

Photo courtesy of Jolene Cartwright

A poor second quarter proved costly as the Anchor Junior Tall Blacks were defeated 74-70 by South American powerhouse Argentina at the FIBA U19 World Cup this morning, New Zealand time.

A 16-29 second quarter aside, the young Kiwis were much improved, winning the rebound count 60-43 and improving their accuracy from the free throw line to 66%, but despite winning the second half by 11 points, the margin was too big to overhaul.

Best for the Kiwis were point guard Quinn Clinton (19 points and 12 rebounds), Sam Waardenburg (15 and 10), Isaac Letoa (13 and 5) and Tane Samuel (12 points) in another all-round team effort that had them going toe to toe with the world #9 ranked Argentinians for the majority of the match.

Head Coach Daryl Cartwright was left to rue that poor period in the game after his side appeared to have done their homework effectively.

“We started really well, all of our practice preparation and videos were focused on the mental side of things, turnovers and free throws were something we challenged the guys to improve and we did that for most parts. But unfortunately, we buttoned off a little and Argentina made some shots and got their tails up and we dug a hole we couldn’t come back from.”

Cartwright said the talent is there, it is just the consistency that is lacking from his impressive young group of players.

“We had a good buildup in China but getting exposed to tough games week in week out is hard for New Zealand teams because of our location and the challenge in bringing our group back together. But we have shown we are good enough in this tournament, but the margin is small between being a good team and great team and we have been great in parts but the consistency is the difference for us in being 3 and 0 in this pool and now being 1 and 2.”

Clinton and Letoa again led the guard line superbly, going a combined 32 points and 17 rebounds with the team improved in looking after the ball, with 16 turnovers in a game played at a high tempo.

“They played well, we have had a bit of a challenge with over half the team being sick the past two days with s stomach virus. It was a good test of our resilience and we spoke about it and had to find a way to overcome not feeling the greatest and being a bit run down, I think we did that. After the game it was mixed emotions, I was proud of our fight but I thought we could have controlled the game better than we did in patches. It is within us to do that, but we need all guys when they step on the floor to contribute every possession and we had some breakdowns that cost us in the end.”

The New Zealanders were also dealing with adversity of a more serious nature, wearing armbands as a mark of respect to their team mate Tane Samuel, with news of the Samuel family suffering a bereavement reaching the team just prior to their game against France. The team in Egypt and all at Basketball New Zealand send their condolences and prayers to the family at this time.

The team will now face off against another giant of the game in Germany in the round of 16 at 6.00am (NZ time) Thursday morning.

New Zealand 70
Clinton 19 point/ 12 rebounds, Waardenburg 15/10r, Letoa 13/5r, Samuel 12, Wynyard 3/9r/3 blocks, T Cameron 3, Aitcheson 2, F Cameron 2, H McDonald 1

Argentina 74
Solanas 16, Lopez 14, Caffaro 11

Photos courtesy of Jolene Cartwright

New Zealand have lost their second Pool A game at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, going down to France 80-69 in Cairo overnight to leave them at one win and one loss, with the 11-point margin not reflecting the competitive nature of the game.

The Anchor Junior Tall Blacks went toe to toe with their much higher ranked rivals for much of the game, leading the world number 7 French by one at halftime and were well in striking distance late in the final quarter.

Sam Waardenburg led the way for the young Kiwis, with 14 points and 9 rebounds, with good support from Quinn Clinton (13 points), and Tai Wynyard (12 and 5) as they gave the European Champions a genuine scare.

New Zealand won the rebounding battle 38-33 and shot with better accuracy than the French in all areas except free throws. But once again turnovers hurt the Anchor sponsored Junior Tall Blacks however, with 26 limiting their ability to put strong runs together, and in the end that weight of possession told against a quality French team.

“We played some great basketball and had a very good first half and maybe shocked them a little with our physical play,” said Head Coach Daryl Cartwright.

“Coming down the stretch we didn’t quite execute as we might have liked and France made some big shots. The score ballooned out with a soft turnover at the end and a couple of fouls. We had belief we could knock them over and we gave them a big scare, so for us there was a lot to take out of the game and a belief if that we can compete with the best from Europe then we can do the same against Argentina in our next match.”

Cartwright is confident his team will improve in looking after the ball, but suggested some of the turnovers were the result of trying to do the right thing.

“Some were classed as positive turnovers, we were maybe called for offensive fouls – but there were some in there that were mental errors or sloppy execution which we need to tidy up and be better. Part of that is absorbing pressure that we aren’t used to at this level – if we can tidy that up a little though it will help pile more pressure on our opposition.”

Waardenburg was a big contributor for the JTB’s, especially given the face he played a little longer than was initially planned as the New Zealanders were down a man before the game started.

“Sam had to play in longer stretches than I would have liked, Angus (McWilliam) was out with stomach virus and Tane picked up a couple of fouls early on and France are a big team so I couldn’t go smaller so Sam played longer than I would have liked and he did a good job – remember he really hasn’t played since December last year and only joined us at the end of our tour of China. He is finding his groove though and played well.

“Quinn had some big plays including a big three while Isaac was great on defence and worked tirelessly against French pressure. But everyone who took the floor made a positive contribution and Tai was massive early on – they had no answer to him even with double teams.”

Cartwright says his team will continue to work hard now in the time they have before facing Argentina in their final pool game on Wednesday morning NZT.

“We will look to be even more physical against Argentina in a couple of days. That was the plan today and we saw how effective it was in the first half, we need to step that intensity up again against Argentina and improve in all aspects of our game.”

Anchor Junior Tall Blacks 69
Waardenburg 14/9r, Clinton 13, Wynyard 12/5r, F Cameron 9/4a, J Aitcheson 5, I Letoa 4, T Samuel 4, T Cameron 3, C McRae 3, T Gillooly 2

France 80
Goudou Sinha 18, Vautier 12, Mokoka 12

Next up for New Zealand is a clash with world No 9 Argentina at 4:15am on Wednesday morning. Pool play will determine seedings going into the knockout rounds.