Basketball: Junior Tall Blacks close to major boilover

New Zealand brought the world under-19 men's basketball championship to life with a fighting 66-64 loss to Argentina in Auckland tonight.

The Junior Tall Blacks pushed one of the tournament favourites to the final buzzer in a match which was the best of the eight on the opening day of the tournament.

The hosts were foiled when forward Morgan Nathan was called for travelling after his team had forced a turnover with 5sec remaining and trailing by just one point.

Argentina held on for the two-point win, a major relief for a side who would have expected a comfortable margin.

Roared on by the crowd at the North Shore Events Centre, New Zealand were far more accurate shooters, with a team success rate of 47 per cent comparing favourably with Argentina's 37 per cent.

The Junior Tall Blacks trailed 16-17 after the first quarter but were 35-31 leaders by halftime and had extended that to 41-34 midway through the third quarter -- the biggest lead by any side in an even tussle.

They went into the final stanza still up, 49-46 before the South American champions inched in front courtesy of a hot streak from guard Matias Nocedal.

He unlocked an excellent zone defence to end with 21 points , one less than New Zealand guard Brook Ruscoe, whose game-high 22 was supported by centre Rob Loe's 15.

New Zealand captain Dion Prewster pulled down eight rebounds and managed three blocks in a strong performance.

Loe hobbled off in the final minute with an ankle injury that could impact on the remainder of the tournament for New Zealand's sole genuine tall player.

New Zealand's next game is tomorrow night against Croatia, who were impressive 104-74 winners over Kazakhstan today.

- NZPA