Basketball: Tall Blacks lose three in a row

The Tall Blacks lost their third consecutive game, 74-78 to Lithuania, at a four-team international basketball tournament in Jinjian, China today (NZ time).

In a fiery encounter that developed into a brawl shortly before halftime, the New Zealanders squandered a 10-point third-quarter lead and were left lamenting yet another close but disappointing result.

They had already spent the day dissecting an embarrassing eight-point loss to the United States Basketball Academy the previous night and today's result just added salt to the wound.

"We were unquestionably better than last night and at times, exceptional," coach Tab Baldwin said.

"When we review the game there will be a lot of positives.

"But we have got to start thinking very seriously about how good this team can be. We... can't afford to have flat patches like we did in the third quarter and parts of the fourth.

"We have got to want to win more. We're not about losing -- somebody has to pay for this and whoever we are playing in the next game should be the ones."

While the team management sat in a bus in a deserted car park, captain Pero Cameron chaired a players-only meeting in the locker room.

Baldwin hopes the outcome of that meeting will be seen when the Tall Blacks face the US Academy side on Wednesday night in Haerbin.

"We need to go up to Haerbin and be a different team," Baldwin said.

"We can take valuable lessons from these three games, but there is already a lot of character in this team and we shouldn't be falling at the death."

The teams came into this game at very different ends of the success scale.

Lithuania had yet to lose in Jinjian, having dispatched the US Academy in overtime on opening night and then beat China.

Much of New Zealand's difficulties came from communication problems, especially on defence.

Phill Jones scored 13 of New Zealand's first 20 points.

Twelve of those points came from beyond the arc and two of those treys came in an 11-2 run that gave his side an eight-point edge after the opening quarter.

The second period developed into a real wrestling match, and almost much more as tension boiled over.

Cameron and his marker Giedrius Gustas were called for double fouls after they exchanged elbowing.

Henare also had some words for his opposite Ginevicius Vidas as he prepared to inbound the ball.

After Martynas Andriukaitis hit his trey at the other end, Gustas was left on the floor, felled during the physical exchange in the keyhole.

When he found his feet, Gustas charged the length of the court to deliver a king-hit on Jones and the benches cleared, with players joining the brawl.

Bottles were thrown, police started yelling. Eventually order was restored and Gustas was dismissed from the stadium.

Jones coolly slotted two free throws and added another three-pointer to restore the Tall Blacks advantage to six points.

Tony Rampton and Dillon Boucher sparked a 10-0 run that carried their team clear, 53-43.

But the Tall Blacks offence suddenly floundered and Mindaugas Lukauskis responded with an 11-point outburst that included three treys to bring Lithuania back for the victory.

"We didn't convert one of those opportunities over six or seven consecutive possessions," Baldwin said.

Jones, who came into the tournament short of match fitness, continued to find his legs. His 21 points showed he was edging closer to top form.

Boucher was again a terrier, while American Casey Frank showed he would challenge Ed Book for a spot on the roster once he gains his New Zealand citizenship.

"We need to absorb this feeling, but increase our distaste for it," Baldwin said after the loss.

* Scoring

Lithuania 78 (Mindaugas Lukauskis 26, Martynas Andriukaitis 20, Povilas Cukinas 12),
Tall Blacks 74 (Phill Jones 21, Dillon Boucher 12).


Quartertime: 16-24.
Halftime: 39-41 (23-17).
Three-quarter: 55-56 (16-15).
Fulltime: 78-74 (23-18).

- NZPA