Tall Blacks win second FIBA Oceania Championship - Aug 25, 2009 (by Eurobasket News)
Game 2: New Zealand - Australia 100-78
The National Team of New Zealand demonstrated impressive performance tonight in Wellington smashing the Australian NT 100-78. Kirk Penney (194-G-80, college: Wisconsin) was on fire in the winning squad with 24 points. He also handed out 10 assists beside that and needed 3 more rebounds to reach triple-double. It is important to say that this 22-point win is the biggest margin which Tall Blacks ever made against the Boomers [read more]
Game 2: New Zealand - Australia 100-78
The National Team of New Zealand demonstrated impressive performance tonight in Wellington smashing the Australian NT 100-78. Kirk Penney (194-G-80, college: Wisconsin) was on fire in the winning squad with 24 points. He also handed out 10 assists beside that and needed 3 more rebounds to reach triple-double. It is important to say that this 22-point win is the biggest margin which Tall Blacks ever made against the Boomers. Australia celebrated in the first game 84-77 and they were looking to win or even to loose with less than 8 points, but New Zealand was great today. Except of Penney, Mika Vukona (197-F-82) also shined in victory collecting 25 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Alex Pledger (216-C-87, college: Belm.Abbey) added 15 pts and 13 boards. Brad Newley (199-G-85) responded with 20 points and 5 rebounds in defeat. Nathan Jawai (207-C-86, college: Midland CC) had 17 points and 9 boards, while A.J. Ogilvy (211-C-88) contributed with 14 pts. Hero from Game 1, Joe Ingles (203-G/F-87, agency: Priority Sports) stopped on 13 pts, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. The first half was a tightly fought affair, with the Tall Blacks leading 17-16 at quarter time, and the Boomers in front 40-38 at the long break thanks to consecutive steal and dunks to Ingles and Newley in the final minute. When reserve guard Mike Fitchett hit a deep buzzer beating three the score at the final change was 74-55 and New Zealand had no troubles to keep comfortable lead until the end. Both countries qualified for the FIBA World Championship 2010 in Turkey. What is very important, New Zealand takes Oceania's first seed into the tournament.
Boomers go one up on Tall Blacks - Aug 24, 2009 (by Eurobasket News)
Australia's men's basketball team has overcome a physical New Zealand Tall Blacks side to win the opening game of the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship in Sydney by seven points, 84-77.
Trailing by three points at three-quarter time, the Boomers rode the hot shooting hand of Beijing Olympian Joe Ingles (203-G/F-87, agency: Priority Sports) in the final period to get over a committed New Zealand outfit for the hard earned victory [read more]
Australia's men's basketball team has overcome a physical New Zealand Tall Blacks side to win the opening game of the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship in Sydney by seven points, 84-77.
Trailing by three points at three-quarter time, the Boomers rode the hot shooting hand of Beijing Olympian Joe Ingles (203-G/F-87, agency: Priority Sports) in the final period to get over a committed New Zealand outfit for the hard earned victory.
Ingles scored ten points in a blistering three minutes midway through the fourth quarter and finished with a game high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting including four three-pointers.
Dallas Mavericks forward Nathan Jawai (207-C-86, college: Midland CC) was a force in the paint and finished with 17 points and a game high 11 rebounds while Beijing Olympian Brad Newley (199-G-85) added 13 points and 5 rebounds, with ten of those points coming in the second half.
Kirk Penney (194-G-80, college: Wisconsin) led New Zealand with 23 points but only two of his points came in the fourth quarter after young guard Matthew Dellavedova (189-G-90) did an outstanding defensive effort shutting down the potent Tall Blacks guard.
Boomers head coach Brett Brown admitted being nervous in the second half and was surprised that New Zealand won the battle of the boards, but reserved special mention for his game winning shooting guard.
We were down going into the last period and Joey, through some individual brilliance, bailed us out of some potential problems, Brown said.
We have a team that is physically gifted so I was surprised that they got the better of us on the boards, particularly the offensive boards, but youve got to give New Zealand credit, they were an aggressive, tenacious team.
We are on a bit of a youth kick but our young group closed out the game in veteran fashion.
Australias victory was even sweeter considering Beijing Olympian Mark Worthington was a late withdrawal due to a foot injury.
Hes done for the series and from a coaching standpoint that really threw me into a tailspin, Brown said. He is a grenade at the minute to the system.
Brown also made mention of 18-year old point guard Dellavedova and his tenacious, aggressive defence.
Dellavedova was tough and he came in and played great defence on Kirk Penney. Thats a hell of an assignment for a young kid to roll out at this stage of his career.
Tall Blacks centre Alex Pledger scored the opening points of the game on a strong drive to the basket but when Joe Ingles hit two three pointers and finished a fast break the Boomers were up 8-4.
Penney then reeled off three long range bombs in quick succession and New Zealand was ahead 17-13 before Nathan Jawai asserted his presence inside. He finished with nine points for the quarter as Australia took a 25-21 lead into the first break.
New Zealand scored the first four points of the second quarter before James Harvey connected on a three pointer to put the Boomers back in front. Australia then upped the ante in defence and began scoring off turnovers as the lead pushed out to eight mid way through the stanza.
Australia extended the margin to ten points approaching half time before fatigue set in and the Tall Blacks responded with a run that reduced the lead to one point at the half, 43-42.
Ingles had a game high 16 points at half time, Jawai had 11 points and an equal game high 5 rebounds and Baynes had four blocks for Australia while Penney had 12 points to lead the Tall Blacks, who won the first half rebound count 23-14.
Mika Vukona scored first in the second half and Pledger followed with a rainbow set shot to put the Tall Blacks in front by three before Oscar Forman nailed a three to tie things up.
The see-saw tussle continued before Penney and Tait got to the hole on consecutive possessions to put the Tall Blacks up by five with 4:55 remaining in the quarter.
The physical battle fired up the crowd and when Newley connected on a three and Jawai skied for a rebound and put back the level the scores again they were in full voice, but they were silenced when guard Mike Fitchett nailed a buzzer beating three to end the third quarter with New Zealand ahead by three, 64-61.
Penney had nine points for the third quarter to take him to a game leading 21 points while Forman had seven for Australia in the period, but it was Jawai starting the scoreboard in the final period with two free throws to reduce the margin to one point.
Australia had good chances to take the lead but could not finish close to the hole while the Tall Blacks did just enough to stay in front until Ingles hit his third three of the game in transition and followed it with a long jump shot to put the Boomers up by four, 70-66 with 5:43 remaining.
Ingles scored his third basket on the trot with a mid range fadeaway to put the Boomers up by six then drained a three pointer to make it four in a row before Abercrombie stopped the rot with the Tall Blacks down seven.
But the New Zealand spirit had been crushed by Ingles and Ogilvy and Newley stepped up to finish off the Tall Blacks, setting the stage for a FIBA Oceania Championship series victory on Tuesday in New Zealand.
New Zealand won the rebound count 45-31 after it was tied 8-8 after one quarter.
Quarter by quarter: 1. AUS 25 NZL 21 H: AUS 43 NZL 42 (18-21) 3: NZL 64 AUS 61 (18-22) F: AUS 84 NZL 77 (20-16) Starters: AUS: Gibson, Newley, Ingles, Forman, Ogilvy NZ: Tait, Penney, Vukona, Abercrombie, Pledger
AUSTRALIA 84 (Joe Ingles 26, Nathan Jawai 17, Brad Newley 13) bt NEW ZEALAND 77 (Kirk Penney 23, Alex Pledger 16, Lindsay Tait 12) at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre Crowd: 2178
Day 5. Semifinals and Finals in Saipan - Jun 26, 2009 (by Eurobasket News)
Final
Australia - New Caledonia 62:44
Australia clinched the Oceania Championship title. They held off surprising New Caledonia in the title decider today. Joshua Wilcher knocked down 14 points and grabbed 5 boards to lead balanced offensive effort for the Aussies. New Caledonia made it a big achievement claiming the second overall spot at the tournament.
Australia marked their ambitions in the opening frame [read more]
Final Australia - New Caledonia 62:44 Australia clinched the Oceania Championship title. They held off surprising New Caledonia in the title decider today. Joshua Wilcher knocked down 14 points and grabbed 5 boards to lead balanced offensive effort for the Aussies. New Caledonia made it a big achievement claiming the second overall spot at the tournament. Australia marked their ambitions in the opening frame. They outscored New Caledonia 19:7 to enter the second frame with a comfortable cushion. However New Caledonia were not intimidated as they gradually turned aggressive and physical defensively. It paid off as they held Australia to only 6 points in the second quarter. The margin was trimmed to just 3 points at the interval. Australia began the third frame more accurate and played it safe. They committed just two turnovers in the third stanza regaining full control. Australia built a 13-point buffer into the fourth period. New Caledonia found no answer and had to surrender at the end. Jan Warbout delivered 11 points for Australia. Reece Maxwell had 9 points in the winning case. Rodrigue Tetainanuarii (203-F-82) posted 8 points and 5 boards for New Caledonia. Laurent Berniere (-G) and Yann Mathelon (185-G-85) finished with 7 points each in defeat.
Bronze medals game Guam - New Zealand 70:55 Guam National Team celebrated the bronze medals at the Oceania Championship. They defeated New Zealand in the consolation final. Andrew Borja came up with 16 points to lift Guam to the big victory. Joseph Blas (183-G/F) added 15 points for the winners. New Zealand outrebounded Guam 41:40 but could not overcome 26 turnovers. The teams exchanged the baskets throughout the first half. Guam enjoyed a narrow 17:15 lead at the first intermission and maintained it in the second frame. New Zealand scored just 10 points in the third quarter allowing Guam to take a 5-point lead into the final frame. Guam easily overcame 9 turnovers in the final stanza to account for 28 points. It was just enough to roll to a historic success. William Stinnett (186-G-86) notched 13 points and 6 boards for Guam. Luke Aston responded with 14 points for New Zealand. Hayden Miller knocked down 11 points in the losing effort. Guam sank 39% of field goals limiting their opponents to 32% accuracy.
Semifinals New Caledonia - Guam 78:47 New Caledonia will look for the fifth consecutive victory at the Oceania tournament when they take on Australia in the championship game later tonight. New Caledonia posted the fourth win in a row edging Guam in the semifinal earlier today. Benoit Weber (195-F) paced New Caledonia to yet another success with 13 points. Emmanuel Souria-Ouamba added 11 points for the winners. The first quarter was a low-scoring affair with New Caledonians taking a 14:9 lead. The favorites raised the tempo in the second period and cleared off to a 22-point distance at halftime. Guam slowed their opponents down in the third quarter and got advantage of 10 turnovers from New Caledonia to come closer. However New Caledonia quickly regained control in the fourth term and cruised to the victory. Raymond Weber and Rodrigue Tetainanuarii had 10 points apiece in the win. Joseph Blas responded with 15 points for Guam. Anthony Borja had 8 points in defeat. New Caledonia outrebounded Guam 43:35 and forced those into 31 turnovers. Guam sank just 25% of field goals, while New Caledonia accounted for 41% from the field. Guam will face New Zealand for the bronze medals.
Australia - New Zealand 78:49 Australian team entered the Final at the Oceania Championship in Saipan. They toppled New Zealand in the semifinal earlier today. The Aussies will now clash with New Caledonia for the tournaments Gold. Australia and New Zealand kept it close in the opening frame. The Aussies had a slight lead on the boards and eked out a 16:13 lead after ten minutes. The tempo increased in the second period as the Kiwis tried to change the complexion of the game. They got physical, outrebounded their opponents but Australia still managed to earn a 36:31 lead at the interval. The Emerging Tall Blacks shot only 3/15 in the third period allowing their opponents clear off to a 12-point distance. The fourth term turned into a rather one-way traffic as Australia got confident and fired their way past New Zealand. Jeremy Hill came up with 22 points and 9 boards for Australia. Kurtis Phillips produced 17 points and 6 boards in the victory. New Zealand responded with 16 points from Jordan Mills (-G). Zacharia Makavilitogia had 8 points in the loss. New Zealand will play against Guam in the consolation final later today.
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