Basketball: Back to earth for Tall Blacks

BRISBANE - A tired New Zealand saw their semifinal hopes evaporate in the final quarter of a 62-81 loss to Australia at the Brisbane Convention Centre last night.

After an even battle through the first three quarters, the Tall Blacks yielded in the final 10 minutes, dropping from first place in their pool to third on goal differential.

Their two upset wins over the previous two nights against Canada, 89-64, and Brazil, 84-79 in overtime, left the Tall Blacks level with Australia and Brazil on the table.

However, they needed to either beat the Boomers or lose by no more than six points to advance.

Instead they drop to the classification section for the teams playing off for fifth to eighth place. Their next game is against Cuba tomorrow night.

It was a disappointing result for the Tall Blacks who continued their excellent form from the first two games into the start of this match. They trailed just 36-37 at halftime and locked the scores at 47-47 late in the third quarter.

However, they couldn't respond when the home side lifted their intensity at both ends of the court in the closing stages.

It became apparent five minutes from the end that New Zealand wouldn't win the game and they took risks to claw back to a six-point deficit. However, the Boomers capitalised on mistakes, ending the match with a 22-8 stretch.

New Zealand appeared to get the rough end of refereeing decisions throughout the match and coach Tab Baldwin spoke to the match officials at halftime for an explanation.

Australia's height advantage had more and more influence as the match progressed. Five members of the Australian team stand at more than 2.08m with Tony Rampton the only Tall Black who could match them for height.

Australian guard Brett Maher benefited most from the space he was given, with a game-high 22, including four-from-six three-point shots.

Guard Phill Jones top-scored for NZ with 14 points, with 12 each from guard Judd Flavell and centre Rampton.

The Tall Blacks ran Brazil off their feet on Tuesday night, finishing extra time much more strongly after the scores were locked at 72-72 after normal time.

A series of steals at the start of the extra five-minute period saw them clear away to an impressive victory.

The win showed the increased skill and maturity in the Tall Blacks' play, showing the benefits of their experience at last year's Sydney Olympics.

US-based guard Kirk Penney was the leading New Zealand scorer, with 23 points.

Australia 81 (Brett Maher 22, Glen Saville 16, Daryl McDonald 13, Daniel Egan 11)

New Zealand 62 (Phill Jones 14, Judd Flavell 12, Tony Rampton 12).

Halftime: 37-36.

- NZPA