Basketball: Tall Blacks classy in 14-point win

By PETER JESSUP

The Tall Blacks were efficient and precise in their clinical 92-78 dissection of a tired Hungarian team in New Plymouth last night.

It was an outstanding display from a maturing team.

They started well and finished as hard as they had started, the improvements obvious all through their game.

Kirk Penney, who topped the scoring with 31 points, was the star.

The New Zealand full-court game, and the home team's speed and invention, troubled the visitors perhaps more than it had in the opening 84-81 win in Auckland and the next-day 110-99 loss in Palmerston North.

The Tall Blacks played the perimeter better, working for openings and getting to shot position without the trouble they had had in the first two match-ups. The lack of height up front was countered by playing out wider, which opened the Hungarians up nicely.

Hungary tried to vary their attack as response to the all-out Kiwi defence, end-to-end balls among it. But the measure of how much the home-team hustle bothered them came via passes thrown to the crowd, balls left behind on the floor, even inability to beat the shot-clock.

The Tall Blacks took the early steals and rebounds and the early lead and, with better rebounding and more variation to their game, they held it through the first two quarters, 26-21 up after the first spell and 44-37 at half-time.

Captain Mark Dickel provided the leadership. There were plenty of confusing decisions from the officials but instead of arguing, Dickel responded in the best way possible, grabbing the ball to score. As Dickel and Dillon Boucher got physical, the Hungarians argued. They took nine fouls in quick succession in the second quarter.

They let their frustration take hold and while they did, the Tall Blacks scored, extending a lead they had never relinquished.

It took some of the entertainment value out of the performance because Hungary was never close enough to threaten to win.

Penney showed more in his game last night than he had in the first two, driving to the basket as well as shooting long-range. Phill Jones was the cool head again, offering options around the perimeter.

A lot was asked of the front line, and Ed Book was on court almost all the time to the break. Transplanted American Kenny Stone made a 30s debut, but the wrong singlet numbers had been given to officials and he was called off, written in officially and restarted for a bizarre opening to his international career.

He, too, played plenty of time but, up against the Hungarians' best in Kornel David, had trouble getting to the hoop, the foot injury he carried into the game appearing to rob him of power when he needed it.

Damon Rampton provided the fresher legs to carry that on through the third and fourth quarters, and guards Judd Flavell and Paora Winitana were full of running against a tiring Hungarian side.

The sides go to Nelson for game four tomorrow and the finale in Christchurch on Friday, with New Zealand in the box seat.

Tall Blacks 92 (Kirk Penney 31, Ed Book 21, Phill Jones 12) Hungary 78 (Tamas Kaman 24, Kornel David and Gergely Fodor 13). HT: 44-37.