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FROM INDY (DAY 2) - TALL BLACKS INTO SECOND ROUND
by Piet Van Hasselt
in Indianapolis, Indiana : USA
1. TALL BLACKS INTO SECOND ROUND
The Burger King Tall Blacks showed their resolve in a
rugged encounter against Venezuela, to record their
second straight come-from-behind victory and remain
unbeaten from two games at the World Basketball
Championships, 98-85.
New Zealand fell behind by 11 points in the first
quarter, 29-18, but managed to change their defensive
strategy quickly, from zone to man-to-man, and began to
control the tempo of the game at both ends. The turning
point of the game came in a five minute burst from the
end of the third to beginning of the fourth quarter when
the Tall Blacks poured on a 18-2 scoring run. NZ
long-range marksmen Phill Jones and Kirk Penney hit fire
in different patches and carried the team to victory with
a combined 40 points.
The depth of the Tall Blacks was also superior to the
Venezuelans outscoring the fifth place qualifiers from
the American zone, 30-9. Venezuela relied heavily on
three of its players, former NBA player Carl Herrera,
livewire Victor Diaz and current Houston Rocket Oscar
Torres, accounting for 78% of their points. Tall Black
Dillon Boucher had his best game thus far, mustering
eight points, six assists and four rebounds in 23 minutes
off the bench.
The Kiwi forwards hounded the offensive glass to great
effect resulting in 10 offensive rebounds and 21 second
chance points.
The large margin at the end of the march allowed all of
the Kiwis to get a run, including Rob Hickey and Paora
Winitana who saw their first World Championships minutes,
much to the delight of the Tall Black fans. One of the
many highlights on the night was the
“posterising” of several Venezuelan players
when Kiwi Sean Marks slam-dunked over them numerous
times.
The win guarantees the Tall Blacks a spot in the second
round of the tournament and games against what is likely
to be the USA, Germany and China. First round action will
be completed tomorrow when NZ plays Argentina.
TALL BLACK SUPPORTERS: Tonight the
Venezuelans dared sit near the mighty Tall Black fans,
and despite being outnumbered by 4 to 1 the Kiwis easily
out-cheered the South Americans. A new chant was
initiated, and will be worked on for upcoming games!
Burger King Tall Blacks 98 (Penney 20,
Jones 20, Marks 13, Dickel 10, Henare 9, Book 9, Boucher
8, Cameron 5, Rampton 2, Flavell 2).
Venezuela 85 (Diaz 26, Torres 22,
Herrera 18, Lugo 10, Mijares 5, Quiroz 2, Machado 1,
Romero 1).
Rebounds: NZ 39 (Marks 9, Jones 8, Cameron 6). Venezuela
28 (Lugo 8).
Assists: NZ 24 (Boucher 6, Dickel 5). Venezuela 16
(Mijares 6).
2. COACH BALDWIN SAYS SECOND ROUND BEGINS NOW
Coach Tab Baldwin felt that the game was outstanding, but
it didn’t come easy as they were made to work for
it. He noted that the second round essentially begins now
including the match against Argentina. This is because
the results of games against the teams that progress into
the second round count, for when working out who
qualifies for the Quarter Finals, and Argentina is
assured of going through after defeating Russia 100-81.
Baldwin stated that the second round was like
“climbing a huge mountain, but we have the momentum
to climb it.” He was especially proud of the
achievement for New Zealand as “we are not that big,
but we want to show our country that we work hard and
want to win for them,” said Baldwin.
ARGENTINA GAME: Badlwin noted that Argentina is a great
uptempo team and thrives on fast break opportunities. The
Tall Blacks will target rebounding and sprinting back on
defence to limit these chances. Captain Pero Cameron
identified two Argentine players that have to be
restricted, swingman Emanuel Ginobili and Captain Ruben
Wolkowisky.
3. VENEZUELAN COACH REACTION
The Venezuelan coach, Jim Calvin, felt his team worked
hard for two and a half quarters, but a loss of intensity
and shot selection cost them. He noted that his players
started complaining with officials which was a sign of
them getting tired. Calvin stated that NZ are a talented
team.
4. TALL FERN STAR WINS QUARTER BREAK COMPETITION
After last night’s tremendous performance from
Rams’ guard Tim Edmonds, tonight’s lucky
randomly selected contestant to represent the NZ fans was
none other than current Tall Fern star and the other Kiwi
to play in the WNBA, Megan Compain. She nailed at least 8
free throws in the allotted time, and her Venezuelan
counterpart struggled to reach the hoop!
5. RCA DOME
The RCA Dome is the home of the Indianapolis Colts of the
NFL (American Football) and when hosting basketball games
they place the court in one corner of the stadium and put
up a temporary stand on the other side. In this set-up it
can hold 35,000 fans. It regularly hosts the NCAA Final
Four (College Basketball Finals Weekend), which is full
to the brim with people. The atmosphere is not quite as
good as the Conseco Fieldhouse (discussed yesterday) as
the stadium looked near empty (even with 10,500 fans in
attendance) and the sound echoes around the stadium.
6. OTHER GAMES
GROUP A
Spain beat Yugoslavia 71-69 – Upset of the defending
champs.
Angola beat Canada 84-74
GROUP B
Brazil beat Turkey 88-86 – One of the games of the
day (alongside NZ’s win!) was the buzzer beating
three-pointer that decided the game from Marcel Macado.
The around 3000-strong Turkey supporters (easily the
biggest group here) were stunned with their team’s
loss of a 16-point lead and they stormed out of the
stadium.
Puerto Rico beat Lebanon 96-77
GROUP C
China beat Algeria 96-82 – Yao Ming was unstoppable
with 38 points and 15 rebounds.
United States beat Germany 104-87 – Dirk Nowitzki
dominated early on his way to 34 total points, but the
Americans were too good in the final quarter. Paul Pierce
nailed a momentum-building long three at the end of the
third that turned the complexion of the game.
GROUP D
NZ beat Venezuela 98-85
Argentina beat Russia 100-81 – Russia must now beat
Venezuela to move onto the next round!
LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT RAMS NEWS: Live from Indy
(Day 3)
REPORTS FROM TALL BLACKS vs ARGENTINA
OTHER KEY MATCH-UPS ON DAY 3
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