Basketball: Junior Tall Blacks match the big stars

Junior Tall Black Brook Ruscoe lays it up against Croatia last night. Photo / Getty Images

For the second night in a row, the Junior Tall Blacks pushed a highly fancied opponent all the way to the wire.

But for the second straight night the young Kiwis lacked the polish to turn a fine effort into a victory.

With their tournament now on the line, they can afford no such slip-ups against Kazakhstan tonight.

They may still be winless but the Kiwis proved Thursday night's showing against Argentina was no one-off. They have what it takes to compete with the big boys. And, as boys go, they don't come much bigger than Croatia, a side which boasts no fewer than seven players over the two-metre mark.

Small forward Richie Edwards starred for the Kiwis with 29 points and nine rebounds, but he admitted it was a tough night against the towering Croatians.

"We just couldn't handle their big guys under the hoop," Edwards said.

"They are tough, they have got five seven footers. I felt like we stayed around pretty well but we just missed a few assignments on defence here and there and we have got to work those out for Kazakhstan."

Making the Kiwis' effort even more meritorious, their one genuine big, centre Rob Loe, didn't even take the court, invalided out with an Achilles injury.

It may have been a mismatch in terms of size but in terms of quality it could hardly have been more even.

Loe's absence and the fallout from Thursday's crushing defeat appeared to leave the JTBs open for a major fall and when Croatia opened with a sparkling 8-0 run, that looked on the cards.

But, inspired by the stellar Edwards, the Kiwis battled back to trail by just two at quarter time. Early in the second spell they hit the front, but the lead was short-lived and Croatia appeared on the verge of pulling away.

And so the match went, Croatia trying and failing to extend to a safe margin, the Kiwis battling back to occasionally lead briefly. With five minutes to go it was all tied up but then the class of the Croatians told, particularly that of captain Mario Delas, whose game-high 31 points and 14 rebounds proved decisive.

The United States, Argentina, Greece and Australia remain unbeaten after the second day's other matches all went to form.

On form, the Kiwis will be strong favourites to survive into next week.

DAY THREE

North Shore Events Centre

Group C
11am: Syria (0-2) v Australia (2-0)

Group D
1.30pm: Croatia (2-0) v Argentina (2-0)

Group C
5pm: Canada (1-1) v Spain (1-1)

Group D
7.30: New Zealand (0-2) v Kazakhstan (0-2)

ASB Stadium

Group B
11am: USA (2-0) v Egypt (1-1)

Group A
1.30pm Angola (0-2) v Puerto Rico (1-1)

Group B
5pm: France (1-1) v Iran (0-2)

Group A
7.30pm: Lithuania (1-1) v Greece (2-0)