Australia 91 Tall Blacks 78
The Tall Blacks face an uphill task if they are to earn automatic qualification to the London Olympics after losing to Australia in the first of a three-game series last night.
The winners of the Oceania Olympic qualifying tournament earn an automatic trip to London, but the losers will have to face some difficult opponents in repechage tournaments a month before the Games.
It's not something the Tall Blacks want to do, and they will need to find a way to beat their more-fancied opposition.
Kirk Penney and Mika Vukona were New Zealand's most dangerous players in Melbourne last night, with Penney the dominant figure in the first half as he picked up 16 points, but they lacked support at crucial times.