Basketball: Tall Blacks take their revenge

The New Zealand men's team beat Canada 84-81 in their second match in Ontario yesterday.

The Tall Blacks lost by three points in the first match 24 hours earlier, but were always in charge yesterday and led for all but the first basket of the match.

Nelson guard Phill Jones top-scored with 25 points, including 14 in the first quarter. Kirk Penney added 20 and Sean Marks, back from injury, chipped in with 15 points.

New Zealand lost 75-72 to the Canadians on Wednesday, when the match finished with more than five seconds remaining on the official clock after New Zealand had called for time-out.

The Tall Blacks now head to Toronto for a five-day camp before travelling to Indianapolis for the world championships.

* The Chinese Basketball Association has pleaded with the country's first NBA player, Wang Zhizhi, to return to the national team for the world championships.

Wang, who also plays in China for the military-run Bayi Rockets, did not report for mandatory training with the national squad after finishing the season with the Dallas Mavericks, fuelling media speculation he might be seeking to defect.

But Wang, who has become a free agent able to sign with any NBA squad, said he opted to spend the off-season in Los Angeles to practise, and rejected reports of a possible defection.

The official Xinhua news agency said yesterday that the Chinese Basketball Association had sent a letter to the 2.16m Wang, saying he would not be punished if he returned and he could still play in the world championships.

"If you return from abroad to train and play with the national team, the association and the Bayi Rockets will not punish you," an unnamed official said.

Xinhua said Wang had not responded directly to messages from the association over the past three months.

China listed Wang as an alternate on their squad for the championships because the association was unclear if he would return.

- AGENCIES