FIBA
Nic Book in action for New Zealand against Lithuania at the Fiba Under-17 World Cup in Malaga, Spain.
New Zealand’s best game of the tournament still wasn’t enough as they bowed out of the Fiba Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Malaga, Spain, to undefeated Lithuania in the round of 16.
The Kiwi squad, coached by Darron Larson, was competitive all along against the winners of Group A, Lithuania, trailing a dozen (36-24) at halftime and closing to seven (45-38) after three quarters, but could not hold their position. challenge as the European heavyweights went on to a 61-48 win to advance to the quarter-finals.
Canterbury’s Nic Book, son of former Tall Black Ed Book, ran the pace of the New Zealanders with 15 points (on 5-for-21 shooting) and 14 rebounds, while Dante Matakatea added 13 points and Julius Halaifonua came in with 10 points and 9 boards.
Larson’s group fought hard defensively against the Lithuanians, but on the other hand just couldn’t convert the clip efficiently enough for it to count. They shot a total of 27% from the floor and only made 5 out of 32 attempts (16%) from outside the arc.
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If there was one positive point for the New Zealanders, who will face Mali next in the play-offs for 9th-16th, it was the improvement they showed through the pool game as they struggled mightily.
They went on to take the gold medal for France 104-35, Serbia 120-72 and Canada 94-46 to finish 0-3 in the preliminary round.
The Kiwis advanced to the World Cup by finishing third in the Fiba Asia qualifier tournament.