Kirk Penney scored 16 points for the Tall Blacks. Photo / Getty Images
The Tall Blacks have come close to causing a major upset after pushing Turkey, last year's world championship runners-up, to the wire in their Adidas Cup game in Istanbul this morning.
New Zealand were in touch throughout the match, and the scores were locked up 62-62 with two minutes remaining,
before the Turks nudged in the final stages to win 70-64. A crucial three-point play tipped the game Turkey's way.
We got ourselves in a great position down the stretch, but lost a little bit of composure, but this is a world power team we were up against, they've got three NBA players including the guy who was No3 pick on the draft,'' said Tall Blacks assistant coach Chris Tupu.
"There were a lot of positives and encouragement to come out of the game, but the guys should still be angry. We've got to be able to close games out - 20 turnovers is too many at this level.
"We battled well, but each individual has to be accountable and make sure we make those steps up a level for each game.''
