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RNZ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Jordan Ngatai to lead Tall Blacks for first time
Jordan Ngatai will captain the Tall Blacks at the FIBA Asia Cup. Photo: David Rowland/ Tall Blacks veteran Jordan Ngatai will lead the side at the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, next month. Ngatai, 32, has played 84 games for the New Zealand team, but will captain the team for the first time at the two lead-up tournaments, both in China, as well as having the leadership reins in Jeddah. Ngatai made his debut in the black singlet almost 12 years ago, aged 20. Tall Blacks coach Judd Flavell said it was an easy decision to give Ngatai the captaincy. "He's just a great professional and somebody that has the ability to connect with people from all backgrounds and ages. Jordan's got the persona about him where he has the mana but is also very approachable. "So yeah, really excited for Jordan and it's something I know he'll take pride in fulfilling." Tall Blacks coach Judd Flavell has named a squad of 12 for the Asia Cup. Photo: Ngatai will lead the Wellington Saints against the Southland Sharks in the NBL final on Sunday, hoping to claim his fifth national league championship. But he had never really thought about being Tall Blacks captain. "It's a huge honour for not only myself, but for my family. "Honestly, I don't think I would have imagined myself being the captain of my national team - let-alone one of the veterans to last this long in a Tall Black singlet as well. "So, I think that in itself is an honour and I'm grateful for it." Ngatai, who is from Porirua, will lead a squad of 12 at the Asia Cup, which follows their lead-up tournaments, the FIBA Solidarity Cup in Guangdong , and Four Nations Tournament in Shenzhen. The Asia Cup squad includes three debutants - centre Jack Andrew (Taranaki Airs), guard Mohave King (Tauranga Whai), and guard Dontae Russo-Nance (Manawatū Jets) - while only Ngatai and forward Tohi Smith-Milner (69 games) have represented their country more than 50 times. Forward Ben Gold, who plays for Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is only available for the Asia Cup, while Jordan Hunt (Franklin Bulls), Hayden Jones (Nelson Giants) and Luca Yates are additions for the two lead-up tournaments. C - Jack Andrew* (Taranaki Airs), debutant G - Taylor Britt (Canterbury Rams & New Zealand Breakers), 34 games G - Flynn Cameron (Franklin Bulls & Adelaide 36ers), 28 games F - Max Darling (Canterbury Rams & New Zealand Breakers), 9 games F - Carlin Davison (Taranaki Airs & New Zealand Breakers), 4 games F - Ben Gold (Marquette University), 7 games G - Mojave King* (Tauranga Whai), debutant G/F - Taine Murray (Brisbane Bullets), 10 games G/F - Jordan Ngatai (Wellington Saints), 84 games G - Dontae Russo-Nance* (Manawatū Jets), debutant F/C - Tohi Smith-Milner (Canterbury Rams & Brisbane Bullets), 69 games F - Jordan Hunt (Franklin Bulls & Surrey 89ers), 12 games G - Hayden Jones (Nelson Giants & University of Wisconsin), 1 game C - Luca Yates* (Hawke's Bay Hawks & Illawarra Hawks), debutant 26 July Tall Blacks v Brazil 27 July Tall Blacks v Guangdong 28 July Tall Blacks v Montenegro 30 July Tall Blacks v Brazil 31 July Tall Blacks v TBC 5 August Tall Blacks v Iraq 8 August Tall Blacks v Philippines 10 August Tall Blacks v Chinese Taipei
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Basketball: Tall Blacks tour China in preparation for Asia Cup
Luca Yates, Hayden Jones and Jordan Hunt Photo: Photosport The final Tall Blacks roster spot for the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah in August will be filled after a five game tour of China. Basketball New Zealand has announced an 11-man squad for the Asia Cup with three more players vying for the last place on the team at the tournament where New Zealand will play Chinese Taipei, the Philippines and Iraq. Prior to the Asia Cup, the squad will travel to China for a series of warm-up games. The Tall Blacks will play three games in the FIBA Solidarity Cup against Brazil, Guangdong and Montenegro, before playing in the Four Nations Tournament again against Brazil and a yet to be decided opponent. The games in China are an opportunity for under-19 player Hayden Jones, 12-cap Tall Black Jordan Hunt and debutant centre Luca Yates to impress coach Judd Flavell. "We'll have 13 guys to rotate through in China, and I guess we'll see what we like, what we need and where we need cover, whether that be in our wings or in our guards," Flavell said. "We want to give guys a chance to actually pull on the black singlet and play up there. Then that'll give us the flexibility to make that decision as late as we can. "We've basically got two or three practices together over that time in China, so we've got more games than practices. "Overall, and I think the games in China will do this, we just want to speed up our connection. This group is very new in terms of a lot of new people coming in for the first time, there'll be new faces in the room. We want to make sure we keep things as simple as we can, so that we can have the highest execution rate leading into the Asia Cup." Flavell has named an Asia Cup squad that includes three debutants, Jack Andrew, Mojave King, and Dontae Russo-Nance after being impressed with how the trio had performed in their respective Sal's NBL sides this season. "The form that they've played with in the Sal's NBL and the roles and responsibilities that they've had with their teams. All of their teams were successful this past season, and a large part of that was down to how these guys contributed. All three of these guys I'm super excited for, they have an amazing opportunity in front of them right here." The youngest of the debutants, 20-year-old Russo-Nance, is someone who Flavell has been keeping an eye on for quite some time. "He's been on the periphery the last few windows. We just needed to see him on the floor for a large period of time so that we could see him with the responsibilities of leading his team, and carrying a workload. "If you look at the Jets success, they probably surprised a lot of people with how well they did. They only just missed out on the playoffs, and Dontae was a big reason for that." In Otago basketball, the last name King holds significance. With dad Leonard playing for the Nuggets, later turning to coaching, and mum Tracey also with a glittering collegiate career, Mojave King will be an exciting new addition to the Tall Blacks set up. "We always knew that Mojave was very talented. When you look at the Tall Blacks in the past, we've had to have a guy that can score, shoot the ball and get hot. And we know Mojave can put on 10-12 points in a short period of time." With an already well-travelled start to his young professional career, King has shown the ability to score the ball in numerous ways. In first most recent Australian NBL season with the New Zealand Breakers, King averaged 8.5 points. Alongside his recently completed Sal's NBL season with the Tauranga Whai, King averaged 22.2 points, shooting at 38 percent from beyond the arc. Andrew's debut inclusion into the Tall Blacks squad has come from a lot of grit, hardwork and determination. He averaged 13.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.2 blocks per game over the course of a breakout season with the Taranaki Airs. "Jack has had a phenomenal jump this season. He just really seemed to grow in confidence as well. For a big man to actually run and have a high activity rate that's something that we really like about them. He's been the first man down the floor, he's been active on the glass, and he's had great success in tandem with Carlin [Davison] off the pick and roll. I think those two have been one of the most dynamic duos." Jones and Hunt, both of whom have had standout seasons in the Sal's NBL, will provide depth and energy for the Solidarity Cup and Four Nations tournament alongside 21-year-old Yates who holds a development player contract with the NBL champion Illawarra Hawks squad. "I first saw him playing for the Illawarra Hawks and then got to see him up close and personal playing in the Sal's NBL. That gave us a great opportunity to see him perform each week, and playing against a lot of guys that were competing for these positions - and we just really liked what he had to offer. "We're just really excited to have another quality big man that has good size and good level of skill. He shoots the ball well from outside, it may not be his known quality but that's a skill we really like when it comes to playing international basketball." C - Jack Andrew* (Taranaki Airs), debutant G - Taylor Britt (Canterbury Rams & New Zealand Breakers), 34 games G - Flynn Cameron (Franklin Bulls & Adelaide 36ers), 28 games F - Max Darling (Canterbury Rams & New Zealand Breakers), 9 games F - Carlin Davison (Taranaki Airs & New Zealand Breakers), 4 games F - Ben Gold (Marquette University), 7 games G - Mojave King* (Tauranga Whai), debutant G/F - Taine Murray (Brisbane Bullets), 10 games G/F - Jordan Ngatai (Wellington Saints), 84 games G - Dontae Russo-Nance* (Manawatū Jets), debutant F/C - Tohi Smith-Milner (Canterbury Rams & Brisbane Bullets), 69 games New Zealand Tall Blacks Squad additions - FIBA Solidarity Cup & Four Nations F - Jordan Hunt (Franklin Bulls & Surrey 89ers), 12 games G - Hayden Jones (Nelson Giants & University of Wisconsin), 1 game C - Luca Yates* (Hawke's Bay Hawks & Illawarra Hawks), debutant 26 July - Tall Blacks v Brazil 27 July - Tall Blacks v Guangdong 28 July - Tall Blacks v Montenegro 30 July - Tall Blacks v Brazil 31 July - Tall Blacks v TBC 5 August - Tall Blacks v Iraq 8 August - Tall Blacks v Philippines 10 August - Tall Blacks v Chinese Taipei
RNZ News
02-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Basketball: NZ advance to first U19 World Cup quarter-finals
Hayden Jones of New Zealand. Photo: FIBA/Rana Elanwar New Zealand made history at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time. They've booked themselves a ticket to the final 16 after beating China 99-86. New Zealand nearly wasted a 20-point lead but grabbed the win in a re-match of the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2024 Semi-Finals - won by New Zealand 86-71. Hayden Jones scored 16 points to go with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. "To get a win and head to the top eight is amazing. We had an up-and-down game. China had some runs but we weathered the storm and came out on top," Jones said. New Zealand are making their fourth appearance in the global junior tournament, taking 13th place in 2009 at home and then finishing 11th in 2017 and 13th in 2019. Four of the New Zealand U19 players were part of the team that last summer reached the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024, which matched the greatest result in New Zealand basketball history - fourth place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2002. Hayden Jones father Phill Jones was a member of that 2002 Tall Blacks World Cup campaign in Indianapolis. Jones was part of last year's U17 World Cup team and said they had meshed together well the players from the slightly older bracket. "We've got a special group with our U17 guys from last year and the older guys - we gel together really well. We were always going to go all out for each other," Jones said. They will face either Switzerland or France in their quarter-final.
The Advertiser
11-05-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Boomers' comeback falls short, Opals outclass NZ
Australia's men's basketball team have paid the price for a sloppy start in the final chapter of their three-match series against New Zealand, suffering a 106-97 loss in Hamilton. The Boomers and their women's counterparts, the Opals, entered Sunday's double-header with a trans-Tasman series win in their back pocket, having each banked victories in Adelaide and the Sunshine Coast. The Opals outgunned New Zealand 86-71 in their series finale, with Isobel Borlase's 18 points and six rebounds helping complete a sweep and a wire-to-wire win. Borlase, who was part of Australia's squad that won bronze at the Paris Olympics, was well supported by Courtney Woods (16 points, three rebounds) and Stephanie Reid (six assists, three steals). The Boomers started their match with a couple of costly turnovers, errors and fouls as the Tall Blacks claimed a 16-4 lead in the first quarter. New Zealand continued to out-muscle the visitors, easing out to a 30-point lead in the third term before Australia staged an epic comeback. Dejan Vasiljevic, who turned the ball over twice in the opening minute of the match, nailed a three-pointer to reduce the hosts' buffer to six points with 32 seconds remaining in the final quarter. But a couple of ice-cool free throws from Finn Delany ensured Australia were unable to conjure a miracle. Point guard Taylor Britt went close to a triple double for the Tall Blacks, helping himself to 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Perth Wildcats guard Elijah Pepper, who debuted for Australia earlier this year, came off the bench and scored a game-high 28 points. Australia's men's basketball team have paid the price for a sloppy start in the final chapter of their three-match series against New Zealand, suffering a 106-97 loss in Hamilton. The Boomers and their women's counterparts, the Opals, entered Sunday's double-header with a trans-Tasman series win in their back pocket, having each banked victories in Adelaide and the Sunshine Coast. The Opals outgunned New Zealand 86-71 in their series finale, with Isobel Borlase's 18 points and six rebounds helping complete a sweep and a wire-to-wire win. Borlase, who was part of Australia's squad that won bronze at the Paris Olympics, was well supported by Courtney Woods (16 points, three rebounds) and Stephanie Reid (six assists, three steals). The Boomers started their match with a couple of costly turnovers, errors and fouls as the Tall Blacks claimed a 16-4 lead in the first quarter. New Zealand continued to out-muscle the visitors, easing out to a 30-point lead in the third term before Australia staged an epic comeback. Dejan Vasiljevic, who turned the ball over twice in the opening minute of the match, nailed a three-pointer to reduce the hosts' buffer to six points with 32 seconds remaining in the final quarter. But a couple of ice-cool free throws from Finn Delany ensured Australia were unable to conjure a miracle. Point guard Taylor Britt went close to a triple double for the Tall Blacks, helping himself to 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Perth Wildcats guard Elijah Pepper, who debuted for Australia earlier this year, came off the bench and scored a game-high 28 points. Australia's men's basketball team have paid the price for a sloppy start in the final chapter of their three-match series against New Zealand, suffering a 106-97 loss in Hamilton. The Boomers and their women's counterparts, the Opals, entered Sunday's double-header with a trans-Tasman series win in their back pocket, having each banked victories in Adelaide and the Sunshine Coast. The Opals outgunned New Zealand 86-71 in their series finale, with Isobel Borlase's 18 points and six rebounds helping complete a sweep and a wire-to-wire win. Borlase, who was part of Australia's squad that won bronze at the Paris Olympics, was well supported by Courtney Woods (16 points, three rebounds) and Stephanie Reid (six assists, three steals). The Boomers started their match with a couple of costly turnovers, errors and fouls as the Tall Blacks claimed a 16-4 lead in the first quarter. New Zealand continued to out-muscle the visitors, easing out to a 30-point lead in the third term before Australia staged an epic comeback. Dejan Vasiljevic, who turned the ball over twice in the opening minute of the match, nailed a three-pointer to reduce the hosts' buffer to six points with 32 seconds remaining in the final quarter. But a couple of ice-cool free throws from Finn Delany ensured Australia were unable to conjure a miracle. Point guard Taylor Britt went close to a triple double for the Tall Blacks, helping himself to 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Perth Wildcats guard Elijah Pepper, who debuted for Australia earlier this year, came off the bench and scored a game-high 28 points.
RNZ News
11-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Tall Blacks score rare home win over Australian Boomers
Taylor Britt running the ball for the Tall Blacks against the Australian Boomers, in the third international, at Globox Arena, Hamilton, on Sunday. Photo: PHOTOSPORT The Tall Blacks have had a rare home win over the Boomers, while the Tall Ferns have lost their third straight test to the Opals in the Trans Tasman Throwdown series. Australia won both men's and women's series, with victories in the first two tests in Adelaide and Sunshine Coast. But the Tall Blacks avoided a series sweep, winning the third test 106-97 in Hamilton, with a much more aggressive display on attack. It was Australia's first test in Aotearoa for nearly 10 years, but they could not find the dominance they had in their 80-68 and 92-67 victories from the first two games in their own country . The Tall Blacks rocked them in the first three quarters at Globox Arena and held a 24-point lead going into the final stanza. The Australians rallied, narrowing the gap to just seven points with a few minutes remaining, but the New Zealanders held their nerve in the dying stages, with match star Taylor Britt being the steady influence as he dropped in a three-pointer with 90 seconds remaining. Britt was the individual star, with 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, stepping up with aplomb given the absence of injured mainstay Shea Ili. Reuben Te Rangi added 18 points and three assists, Kaia Isaac 14 points and seven rebounds, Tohi Smith-Milner 13 points and four boards, Carlin Davison 12 points and four rebounds, and Walter Brown nine points, seven boards and four assists. The Tall Blacks pulled in 50 rebounds, to 28 from Australia. Elijah Pepper topscored for the Boomers, with 28 points. The Tall Ferns' Ella Tofaeono shooting for goal against the Australian Opals in the Trans-Tasman Throwdown, at Globox Arena, Hamilton, on Sunday. Photo: Photosport The Tall Ferns couldn't make it a home double, going down 86-71 to the Opals, but they had their rivals under the pump a number of times. Skipper Esra McGoldrick scored the most points in the game, with 19, one more than Australia's Courtney Woods, as the young New Zealand side put in an improved performance after the Opals won the first two tests, 88-70 and 98-57. Tall Ferns coach Natalie Hurst said she was very proud of her players, who had pushed Australia hard with a display that built on what they had learnt in the first two tests. "They are tired, physically and mentally, and to push through into lead changes seven times and to keep these guys to 86 we are very happy with," Hurst told Sky Sport. Sharne Robati and McKenna Dale both scored 11 points for the Tall Ferns.
