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The Tall Blacks have ended an 11 year losing streak, snatching a 109-98 win over the Australian Boomers in their opening game at the Asia 2021 qualifiers.
The last time the Tall Blacks beat the Boomers was in Wellington, 2009.
At that time Pero Cameron (Ngāpuhi) was still on the Tall Blacks roster, as a player. A decade later, and the NZ basketball legend comes back with the win in his first game as head coach.
The undermanned Tall Blacks held the lead for the majority of the game with the Boomers only getting within 5 points throughout its entirety.
Shea Ili and Reuben Te Rangi led the way with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists apiece, Jordan Ngatai added 19 points, while Loe also contributed 19 points and nine rebounds.
Both the Boomers and Tall Blacks were missing key players, due to the NBL playoffs taking place - missing out on the likes of Abercrombie, Fin Delany, and the Webster brothers.
The Tall Blacks have Guam and Hong Kong left to play in their pool, both games of which will be free to air on Māori Television.