Basketball: Coach glowing after victory over China

New Zealand beat China 90-69 in the four-nation men's tournament in China yesterday.

"It's hard to imagine a more comprehensive performance at both ends of the floor," said coach Tab Baldwin, shaking his head in disbelief at New Zealand's fine performance.

China beat New Zealand 60-59 in the first round of the competition in the tournament.

"Apart from a spell in the third quarter when they cut the lead to one, you could say we were dominant."

The New Zealanders shot 21 three-pointers from 31 attempts and challenged the Chinese physically. The home side were without their injured NBA star Yao Ming.

Phill Jones had the Tall Blacks on the front foot after hitting two early three-pointers when the Tall Blacks put together probably their best quarter of the tour.

Dillon Boucher sneaked along the baseline for two reverse lay-ups, Pero Cameron converted a three-point play and Lindsay Tait and Aaron Olson also added from beyond the arc.

New Zealand led the first quarter 23-14.

Baldwin told his players to stamp their authority on the game at the break. Jones and Cameron struck in quick succession to stretch their lead to 14 points (36-22).

An 8-0 run enabled the home team to close the gap, but Olson had a lay-up and another trey before halftime to keep New Zealand well in front.

The Chinese closed the margin to one point after halftime but Jones (three) and Tait shot three-pointers to maintain their command on the game.

With 10 minutes remaining and leading 63-54, New Zealand were teetering on the brink of disaster in the foul count. Tony Rampton, Craig Bradshaw and Casey Frank all had four fouls each and Cameron three.

Still, Olson hit a three straight out of the blocks and the roll continued, with Tait and Jones chipping in to take New Zealand's lead to 88-64.

Baldwin was glowing in his assessment of their performance.

"As I watched you guys come through the locker room door, I didn't see one guy that didn't do his job tonight," he told the players later.

"It's simple as that. I'm so pleased you guys played the way you can play and I'm proud to know you are capable of playing as a team like that. China are a good team, not a great team, but you beat them by as much as you wanted."

He wanted to see a similar performance in today's rematch, and in their fixtures against Australia after the tournament.

- NZPA