Isaac Fotu in action
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Tall Blacks have finished top of their Asian World Cup qualifying group after beating Lebanon 106-91 in their last game in Wellington.
The two sides had already qualified for the World Cup in August with this game to decide who finishes top and improves their seeding for the World Cup draw.
New Zealand relied on their veteran trio to provide the scoring, while weathering some tough Lebanon defence in the second half.
Isaac Fotu led all scorers for the Kiwis with 23 points and 7 rebounds on 10/12 shooting, while Jordan Ngatai added a solid 21 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while shooting 5/6 from downtown.
Reuben Te Rangi was also hot from behind the arc, sinking 5/8 triples for his 21 points.
New Zealand built up an eight-point lead after the first half, before briefly falling behind in the third thanks to hot Lebanon shooting combined with lockdown defence.
Undaunted, the Kiwis rallied in a pivotal fourth behind Hyrum Harris and his 10 fourth-quarter points, all the while holding Lebanon to just 11 points in the period as the Tall Blacks claimed their eighth win of the World Cup Qualifiers.
Coach Pero Cameron admits the game was challenging.
“Really tough game, we had a good start but were unable to hang onto the lead… we were able to run them down in the end so a great finish for our guys.
Cameron was impressed with their fourth quarter effort.
“The discipline was good and we had a bit more legs than them so the pressure was telling which was good.
“Obviously having a weapon inside like Fotu to command the double team and get wide open shots was also good.”
Isaac Fotu says it was great to get a win against Lebanon.
“We’ve had trouble with them in the past, so it feels good to get a win over a tough team like that and take this confidence into World Cup preparations.”
So the Tall Blacks finish with 18 points, Lebanon 17, while the other two qualifiers from the group, the Philippines and Jordan were on 16.
The World Cup draw is in April and Cameron says they’re currently working on a plan for their preparation.
The World Cup is being shared by Indonesia, Japan and the Philipines.
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