Basketball: Fotu stars as Tall Blacks beat China

Isaac Fotu was a standout for the Tall Blacks. Photo / Getty

The Tall Blacks have swept into the Stankovic Cup final on the back of an stunning individual performance from Isaac Fotu overnight.

Fotu had 34 points on 12/18 shooting for the Tall Blacks in their 89-82 win over China, setting a date tomorrow night to play Mexico in the final.

With star guard Corey Webster sitting this one out alongside Tai Wynyard, the Tall Blacks looked to be light on offensive firepower, while Paul Henare gave the starting point guard reins to the inexperienced Shea Ili.

However, Fotu's dominance down low sent historians reaching for the record books, with his 34 points one of the highest scoring games in recent Tall Blacks history, the forward adding eight rebounds as he stole the show at the Chinese-based tournament.

Henare's willingness to test out new combinations and strategies in the build-up to the Olympic qualifying series with Australia was evident in the early stages, with his troops aggressively trapping and applying pressing defensive schemes for a large portion of first half.

China started out strongly, hitting some tough shots on their way to 15 points in just the first three minutes of the clash, before the Tall Blacks had some bench scoring push them to a 23-21 quarter-time lead.

After committing 25 turnovers in their win over Mexico, ball control was again an issue as points were as hard to come by as Australian Ashes runs in the second quarter, China leaping out to a decent 44-37 halftime advantage.

With Mika Vukona fighting his usual dose of foul trouble, Henare turned to Rob Loe alongside Fotu in the third quarter, with the noticeable floor spacing provided by the two smooth-shooting big men creating some nice offensive flow.

Fotu took full advantage, stepping up in the scoring absence of Webster and a quiet night from Tom Abercrombie to score 12 points in the third period, giving his side a 65-63 lead going into the final quarter.

He added a further 11 points in the final quarter as the Tall Blacks stepped up their game late once again, only having one fourth quarter turnover and continuing to boss the glass, ending with 33 rebounds to China's 20.

A strong performance inside (28/47 shooting on two-point shots) and at the free-throw line (21/30) overcame a cold night shooting from the perimeter (4/20), as Henare's troops eased away in the final two minutes to take the seven point win.

Everard Bartlett ended with 10 points, while Loe and Reuben Te Rangi had nine apiece for the Tall Blacks, who now prepare to back up this display in the final against Mexico tomorrow night.