The Tall Ferns are headed to the knockout stage of the Asia Cup after a big win over Lebanon in their final pool game spearheaded by Tahlia Tupaea.
Tupaea finished with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists to help the Tall Ferns to a 76-45 win over Lebanon - a must-win match for them heading into today after their 80-46 loss to China last night.
The efforts of Tupaea were backed up by star Charlisse Leger-Walker who finished with 19 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists as well as Penina Davidson who finished with an impressive double-double of 13 points and 13 boards.
New Zealand jumped out to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, outscoring Lebanon in all four quarters with ease as their opponents struggled to find the net on a teamwide 26.7% shooting performance.
Now the Tall Ferns must wait on today's other results before finding out who they will play in the quarter-finals although it looks likely it will be the third qualifier from Group B which would be either Chinese Taipei or the Philippines.
A win in the quarter-finals would send the Tall Ferns through to the semis for the first time in four appearances at the Asia Cup with a top four finish also opening the door to potential Olympic qualification for next year's Games in Paris.
SHARE ME