Junior Tall Blacks take fourth at FIBA U-19s
- NZ Sports Wire
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 7 hours ago
The Junior Tall Blacks' late fightback has come up just short at the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup.
New Zealand trailed by 10 with 40 seconds remaining but pulled within two in the final seconds, before falling 91-87 to Slovenia in the third-place playoff in Lausanne, Switzerland on Sunday (Monday NZ Time).
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Nelson Giants guard Hayden Jones had a game-high 21 points (8/16 FG, 5/6 FT) and seven rebounds, while Canterbury Rams guard Tama Isaac finished with 20 points (7/15 FG, 3/6 3pt, 3/4 FT) and two steals.
Julius Halaifonua contributed 16 points (4/6 FG, 8/10 FT), five rebounds and four assists, and Carter Hopoi (10 points and eight boards) and Lachlan Crate (10 points and two steals) were also in double-digits.
Jackson Ball, a standout for the Hawke's Bay Hawks in the National Basketball League, was held scoreless in 27 minutes, putting up just four field goal attempts.
New Zealand big man Oscar Goodman was forced out of the game for good after less than four minutes, and Slovenia took a 26-19 lead after 10 minutes.
The JTBs got back within one point only to see Slovenia pull away to the first double-figure advantage at 39-29. New Zealand did not let them get any further ahead and trailed 52-46 at the main break.
The Europeans started the second half stronger and used a 13-3 surge to take a 68-54 lead midway through the third quarter. New Zealand tried to close the gap but it was still 75-64 after 30 minutes.
The margin was down to four points before Vit Hrabar nailed back-to-back triples to put Slovenia up 85-77 with under four minutes to go.
Slovenia led 89-79 with 35 seconds but New Zealand gave it one final push with the next eight points but there was only 1.5 seconds remaining when Isaac made it 89-87.
Still, New Zealand registered the country's third fourth place in global history, along with at the 2002 FIBA Basketball World Cup and 2024 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup.