Cartwright acknowledged the contribution from Isaac Letoa in the assist column tonight, as he again went close to double figures.
"Isaac has had two games with nine assists now and does a good job when he plays under control and has our systems running and gets guys the right looks. There have been some areas we have struggled with, notably turnovers, and we got that ratio right tonight for sure."
Cartwright also referenced the commitment from everyone involved in the team and the programme, most notably the families and players themselves.
"I am proud of the team, the staff and everyones families in what we have achieved. It has been a tough six months with our preparation, trying to get all the guys together, with Sam based in Miami and not part of our build up at all really. Our isolation makes it difficult too, trying to play other U19 teams in the buildup to get a feel for the style of basketball that we would come up against."
While disappointed not to have gone deeper into the tournament and earned a top ten ranking, Cartwright reflected on a team that never threw in the towel and always gave 100%.
"I spoke about it in the locker room today, in virtually every game we were within four or five points in the final moments. A couple of those results below out as we were fouling at the end trying to get back in. But we showed we are a competitive side and found a way even when losing badly in the number of possessions for each team on the back of our turnover issues.
"There are some learnings for our guys, hopefully this experience is a positive one to motivate them to continue to develop, work hard and one day be in the Tall Blacks. This group of young men can be the core of the Tall Blacks for a few years to come, if they continue their development wherever they end up over the next few years."
Cartwright says the game is in rude good health, with a depth and level of talent being produced like never before, but the challenges are significant for a sport that has multiple national teams and programmes in action at any one time - all largely 100% funded by the sport or the players and their families.
"The game is going from strength to strength, as our local associations and coaches improve their knowledge and systems. We are seeing more and more young people choose basketball as their sport of choice instead of a second sport. I hope that growth continues, but it needs financial support to match it.
"One of the areas is the possibility of long-term government funding to support this programme and filter down to the junior teams. One of the challenges is we are athlete funded, sometimes that can exclude some of our best athletes. I know we are the only team here at the World Cup that is athlete funded, that is the reality of what we are going up against."
Anchor Junior Tall Blacks 85
Wynyard 17 & 10, Samuel 17, Clinton 12 & 5 & 4 assists, Letoa 7 points 9 assists
Egypt 69
- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand
