KEY POINTS:
Angola 67
Tall Blacks 55
The Tall Blacks' build-up for their Olympic basketball qualifying series with Australia has struck another snag.
Seeking a strong start to the Boris Stankovic Cup in China after surprisingly dropping their dead rubber test against Venezuela in Wellington last week, New Zealand seemed on track, racing out to a 16-point lead after 11 minutes.
But the African champions, who beat the Tall Blacks 95-73 at last year's world championships, were undeterred by their sluggish start and gradually reeled in the deficit as New Zealand's shooting form deserted them.
Ominously, the Angolans closed the second quarter with 10 unanswered points to trail by just three (30-27) at halftime.They finally took the lead midway through the third period and never relinquished it.
Tall Blacks captain Pero Cameron reduced the deficit to two deep in the final quarter but Angola finished with a flourish, with a nine-point run to draw comfortably clear.
New Zealand coach Nenad Vucinic was struggling to comprehend the meltdown.
"We looked hesitant on offence, our shooters didn't take wide open shots," he said.
"We were turning down those open shots and were forced to take bad shots instead. It got a little bit in our heads, which shouldn't happen because we are an experienced team.
"We certainly started the game well, but Angolans put pressure on us and we didn't adjust well," Vucinic said.
"Defensively, they switched on our screens and we didn't read those switches very well."
Forward Eduardo Mingas was at the heart of the Angolan resurgence, notching a game-high 27 points plus a dozen rebounds.
The Tall Blacks' offence, which had come so easy in the first term, all but dried up.
After shooting eight from 14 from the field during the opening 10 minutes, they managed just one for 14 over the next spell and a dismal 0 for 8 from three-point range.
Usually reliable contributors Kirk Penney, Cameron and Craig Bradshaw combined for just 16 points, leaving Phill Jones as the highest scorer with 12.
Vucinic gambled from the tip-off by promoting Bradshaw into the starting five despite his late arrival into camp and his relative unfamiliarity with the new system.
He acknowledged the ploy did not pay off as the centre scored just three points and recorded unsatisfactory stats of one from 11 from the field; 0-7 from beyond the arc and 1-4 from the free throw line.
"He's still battling to understand our system," Vucinic said.
"His shots were not dropping and that started to get to him."
The Tall Blacks are using the tournament to prepare for next month's three-test series against the Boomers to book a spot for Beijing.
- NZPA
