New coach Judd Flavell has succeeded in his first assignment as Tall Blacks coach, guiding New Zealand to the FIBA Asia Cup next year.
After an upset first-time defeat to the Philippines in his debut game in charge, Flavell's team have bounced back with an 81-64 win over Chinese Taipei in Christchurch, clinching a spot in next year's zone tournament.
Power forward Sam Waardenburg led the way with 16 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, but point guard Shea Ili masterminded the Kiwis' strong finish with 12 points and eight assists.
NZ have now qualified for the Asia Cup tournament. (Source: TVNZ)
The Tall Blacks began strongly and seemed on track for a big win, when they ran up a 23-6 first-quarter lead. With seven-foot (2.13m) American Brandon Gilbeck patrolling the paint defensively, the visitors slashed into that advantage to trail by five points at halftime and pulled within a point late in the third.
Gilbeck wasn't a huge force offensively or on the boards — he finished with only eight points and four rebounds, as the Tall Blacks grabbed 25 offensive rebounds and outscored their rivals 20-6 in second-chance points — but terrorised NZ players under the basket for seven blocks.
New Zealand regained control of the contest in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, when Gilbeck committed his fourth personal foul and had to sit. The home side scored seven unanswered points as part of an 11-2 run that forced Chinese Taipei coach Gianluca Tucci to insert Gilbeck back in the game.
By then, the damage was done. He eventually fouled out with two minutes remaining and the lead still 17 points, and Flavell enjoyed the luxury of clearing his bench soon after.
"I said in the group in the locker room, we got the job done," said Flavell. "These are good lessons for us to learn moving forward."
The Tall Blacks have now swept Chinese Taipei in their home-and-away series, clinching advancement for themselves and Philippines to the Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia, but their next order of business will be a return game in Hong Kong, before their home game against the Gilas in February.
New Zealand finished third in the 2022 Asia Cup, losing to eventual champions Australia in the semis, but accounting for Jordan in the bronze playoff. The Boomers have won the last two tournaments.
New Zealand 81 (Waardenburg 16, Ili 12, Vodanovich 11) Chinese Taipei 64 (Gadiaga 14, Chen 12, Lu 12)
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