Basketball: Tired Tall Blacks overwhelmed in playoff match

SYDNEY - New Zealand's encouraging efforts at the four-nation pre-Olympic basketball tournament were soured yesterday when they ran out of puff, going down 46-63 to Canada in the third-place playoff.

The Tall Blacks had set a high standard at the tournament, the launching pad for their Olympic campaign in September, so yesterday's performance was a major disappointment.

Although they lost all five matches, they pushed higher-rated opponents to the wire on three occasions, including Saturday's momentous semifinal against world No 2 Russia, which went into double overtime. The Kiwis eventually lost 73-86.

The exertion that went into that game seemed to show yesterday as the New Zealanders faded defensively in the second half against the sweet-shooting Canadians.

The only Tall Black to stand out was centre Sean Marks, who showed the fitness of a player with two years of NBA basketball under his belt. After playing a whopping 36 minutes against Russia, he top-scored yesterday with 11 points and dragged down seven rebounds.

The Tall Blacks started with a roar and led through most of the first half before being passed just before the break and trailing 23-25 at halftime.

An unanswered 10-point run early in the second half saw the Canadians pull clear, with top-scorer Eric Hinrichsen finding himself unmarked on the inside too often.

New Zealand's main scorer Phill Jones could not find his range and was restricted to just five points.

New Zealand coach Keith Mair was disappointed his side could not maintain their standards until the end, which was one of their goals at the tournament.

While the Tall Blacks could boast better individuals, Mair believed the team had not reached the level of two years ago after they toured Europe.

"We're not as consistent and not as fluid."

Canada 63 (Eric Hinrichsen 10) New Zealand 46 (Sean Marks 11, Ralph Lattimore 10). Halftime: Canada 25-23.

- NZPA