The Tall Blacks have lost 99-72 to the United States after an impressive start in their Fiba World Cup opener in the Philippines on Sunday (NZT).
New Zealand led 14-4 early in the first quarter, before closing out the quarter down by a single point, 19-18, and continued to stick with the highly fancied Americans throughout the first half, trailing by just nine at the break, 45-36.
The NBA-laden US team powered away from the Kiwis in the second half, doubling their lead in the third quarter to 76-58 and kicking on to claim the victory in the final quarter.
“The first half we came out, we had a lot of fight. In the second half, we lost a bit of our legs there. But overall, I think we can take a lot of things from this game and into our next two must-win games,” said Tall Blacks captain Reuben Te Rangi (Ngāti Whātua).
Te Rangi led the scoring for the Kiwis with 15 points, with Shea Ili and Finn Delany contributing 12 points apiece.
Coach Pero Cameron (Ngāpuhi) was proud of the Tall Blacks’ performance against the world no. 2.
“It was a good test for us, a big challenge, and I’m very proud of how we came out - and the whole game in general. So I’m looking forward to the next game.”
The Tall Blacks go up against Jordan on Monday and European powerhouse Greece on Thursday (NZT).