New Zealand coach Nenad Vucinic blames poor shooting and inexperience for his team's opening loss at the Alpos Cup international men's basketball tournament in Slovenia yesterday.
Puerto Rico, ranked 12 in the world, took control of the match in the fourth quarter, bolting clear on a 21-6 runto win 82-74.
The Tall Blacks led from early in the first quarter until early in the fourth before Puerto Rico unleashed a 13-0 spurt to make the game safe at 80-65 with under three minutes remaining.
"We played a good game of basketball but we didn't shoot well," Vucinic said. "We probably didn't capitalise in the first half. We should have been up by more than seven points at halftime. We just didn't shoot well.
"And in that fourth quarter we probably showed the inexperience this side has. We lost the lead and then the game. We were pleased with the way we played, though."
Tall Blacks shooting guard Kirk Penney shot eight-of-18 from the field to finish with a game-high of 24 points, adding five rebounds and two steals, while centre Craig Bradshaw compiled a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Point guard Lindsay Tait had 12 points and forward Mika Vukona nine points and 12 boards.
New Zealand shot at just 38 per cent from the floor and 35 per cent on three-point attempts, while the Puerto Ricans converted 49 per cent on field goal attempts and 43 per cent from distance.
New Zealand faces Slovenia today before playing Iran tomorrow.
WHAT'S AHEAD * The Tall Blacks have one last chance to qualify for the Olympics.
* They need to finish at least third in a tournament in Greece next week.
