Basketball: Tall Blacks fight back to take second test

9.30pm

The Tall Blacks produced a stunning form reversal to beat Australia 80-75 in the second men's basketball test ere tonight.

The Tall Blacks chances of competing in the three-test series were in doubt after being hammered 90-60 in the first match in Hamilton last night.

Tonight however it was a case of the New Zealand same team but a vastly different approach as they threw themselves into the game with the cohesion and passion missing last night.

Tall Blacks fired into life early, overwhelming the Boomers to take a 29-18 lead after the first quarter in front of a 2000-strong crowd here at the Westpac Centre.

Maintaining the tempo, they held an 11-point lead at halftime with the veteran pairing of Phill Jones and Ed Book imposing themselves on the scoreboard.

Australia drew level when Boomers skipper Shane Heal went on a scoring spree to make it 66-all at the end of the third quarter.

The final stanza went down to the wire, with both teams going goal for goal, but the hosts nosed ahead and held on to clinch the thriller.

Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin bolstered his shooting stocks by including guards Troy McLean and Aaron Olsen, while 19-year-old Chris Reay made his debut.

They blasted away in the first quarter after Jones racked up 13 points, which included four three-pointers.

The Tall Blacks also shored up their defence. Heal, who terrorised them with a game-high 22 points in Hamilton, was marked heavily.

The intensity of the game was evident from the outset, with a couple of skirmishes threatening to blow up.

Unlike last night the Tall Blacks secured their defensive rebounds while they hustled the Australians to maintain their 29-18 heading into the second quarter.

The Tall Blacks also restricted the Boomers scoring from the shooting arc and inside the keyhole by shutting down the 2.07m power forward Andrew Bogut.

Book kept the momentum rolling for New Zealand with two-quick three-pointers early in the second quarter.

The Nelson Giants centre finished the quarter with 14 points.

With Mark Dickel orchestrating the offence, the Tall Blacks found it easier to score inside the paint, while drawing numerous fouls from the Boomers to give them a healthy 49-38 lead at halftime.

Heal broke his scoring drought in the third quarter when the three-time Olympian landed 15 points to level the match.

And Heal was also instrumental in that third quarter when the Boomers outscored the Tall Blacks 28-17 to setup an exciting final quarter.

However, New Zealand withstood the Australian assault, setting up a thrilling decider in Invercargill tomorrow afternoon.

Score: New Zealand 80 (Phill Jones 18, Ed Book 17, Pero Cameron 10), Australia 75 (Martin Cattalini 13, Matthew Nielsen 10, Glen Saville 10). Halftime: 49-38

- NZPA