Tall Blacks power forward Isaac Fotu competes for a rebound against Daniel Paris of Lebanon. Photo / Getty Images
The Tall Blacks have overcome a lacklustre opening quarter to beat Lebanon 63-60 in front of a raucous Rotorua crowd in their FIBA World Cup qualifier.
With the two teams sitting on six wins each atop Group E going into the game, it was expected to be hotly contested and, in the final quarter especially, the players delivered.
Going into the fourth quarter, Lebanon held a narrow 46-45 lead. They started the final quarter hot, scoring eight unanswered points.
The Tall Blacks clawed their way back to trail 59-56 as the Rotorua crowd got louder and louder, willing their side home. Corey Webster was fouled attempting a three, but only hit one of the three free throws before giving a way a foul of his own. Rustom hit one of the free throws for Lebanon to lead 60-57.
Loe hit a two-pointer for the Tall Blacks to reduce the deficit to 60-59 before Lebanon were pinged for travelling. With 43 seconds on the clock, New Zealand had possession.
The Tall Blacks missed two shots but were able to pull down the rebounds before Ili was fouled. He was awarded two free throws and a chance to take the lead. He stepped up to the mark, draining both shots to make it 61-60 with 20 seconds to play.
With the clock ticking, Lebanon went for the winning shot but it was an air ball which Reuben Te Rangi grabbed before being fouled. He nailed both free throws to seal a 63-60 victory and send the home crowd wild.
The first two quarters of the match could not have been more different. The Tall Blacks created plenty of openings early but trailed 18-7 at the end of the first quarter, with the shots not falling as often as they would like. They finished the quarter with a field goal percentage of only 10.5 per cent.
However, the Tall Blacks fought back in the second quarter and at halftime the scores were locked at 25-all. Point guard Shae Ili and Corey Webster finished the half with seven points each, while centre Rob Loe had five rebounds.
The third quarter ended with Lebanon up 46-45, setting up a real nail-biter of a fourth quarter which the Tall Blacks ultimately took control of to win.
Ili was the lead points scorer for the Tall Blacks with 14, followed by Tai Webster (13) and Corey Webster (11). Loe dominated the boards with a total of 11 rebounds, while also chiming in with nine points. Tai Webster had the most assists with four.
For Lebanon, Rustom top scored with 19, Majok and Haidar grabbed 11 rebounds each and Rodrigue Akl dished out four assists.
After the game, Henare credited the Rotorua crowd for the way they willed his side home.
"It's awesome, we love coming to Rotorua. We've been here twice in a few months now and they've really embraced us, I think there's some new Tall Blacks fans around the place, which is really cool.
"We could really hear them coming down the stretch . . . when you're in the heat of battle you don't really hear how loud it is but you feel the energy. You could really feel the energy of the home crowd tonight and you have to think that made a big difference."
The Tall Blacks finished the game with a massive 25 offensive rebounds, but Henare said they had to do that to make up for some below-par shooting - they only made 27.6 per cent of their field goals.
"Those 25 offensive rebounds came from 55 missed shots and in the end that was massive, just being able to get those second opportunities. It wasn't a great night for us putting the ball in the hoop, so coming up with extra possessions and trying to get to the foul line, you just have to find ways to keep the scoreboard ticking when you're not rolling on offence.
"There's a little bit of relief and quite a lot of pride in the guys and the way they stuck with it throughout the whole game. We talked about staying with the process of what we are trying to do, but I thought Lebanon came in and were extremely tough, they were grinding it out as well.
"In those types of games it can go either way, I've been on the other side of the ledger more times than I'd like."
Henare said the way his players ground out the win, despite not being at their best after big week of travel, spoke volumes of the side's depth.
"We were able to get guys in and the aim was to try to have fresh bodies on the floor at all times. When it came down to the last five minutes we wanted to finish the game with guys we felt were playing well and would be our best group to try to win the game. I thought the depth of the group really shone through - we were able to keep the defensive pressure on and force that last turnover."
The Tall Blacks' next FIBA World Cup qualifier is against Jordan at the end of November.