A tournament that started so promisingly has ended in disappointment after the Junior Tall Blacks were bundled out of the under-19 world championships last night.
Kenny McFadden's side played above themselves in pushing both Argentina and Croatia all the way in two narrow losses but they froze against ateam they perhaps expected to beat.
The Kazakhs had been ordinary in their opening two matches, thumped by 30 points by both Argentina and Croatia, but they hustled the Kiwis off their stride and found their touch from the three-point line.
It was a frenzied match, full of end-to-end action, with defence, seemingly, an afterthought. Still, it was a game the Junior Tall Blacks should have won, and they knew it.
They were as cold as the weather outside, shooting a paltry 39 per cent from the floor (30 from 76 attempts), and were made to pay for their profligacy by impressive shooting guard Anton Arsenyev. He finished with a game-high 27 points.
Even New Zealand forward Richie Edwards, who scored 29 points in the narrow loss to Croatia the previous night, had a miserable return of only seven out of 23 attempts from some good looks at the basket.
New Zealand never had control of the match, even when they built a nine-point lead midway through the third quarter, and the final quarter scoreline of 16-30 told a sorry tale.
"We should have had that game," McFadden said. "But Kazakhstan played good today and they shot the ball extremely well.
"The boys played as hard as they can play.
"I feel we can compete with some of the better teams but it comes down to poise, execution and experience. They lacked that coming down the stretch. It wasn't about nerves.
"But when you play at this level you can't afford to make mistakes, crucial mistakes."
It now means the Junior Tall Blacks head into a pool to find positions 13-16 with the likes of Syria, Iran and Angola...
New Zealand 83 (B. Ruscoe 20, R. Loe 20, R. Edwards 17) Kazakhstan 90 (A. Arsenyev 27, A. Tyutyunik 20). HT: 42-46.
