Tall Blacks keep top-16 hopes alive with OT victory over Jordan at ...
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Tall Blacks guard Shea Ili drives to the basket against Freddy Ibrahim in the World Cup game against Jordan.
At Mall of Asia Arena, Manila: New Zealand 95 (Izayah Le’afa 23, Shea Ili 15, Finn Delany 14, Yanni Wetzell 13, Isaac Fotu 11), Jordan 87 (Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 39, Freddy Ibrahim 22, Ahmad Al-Dwairi 19) in OT. 1Q: 21-18; HT: 46-37; 3Q: 65-57; FT 85-85.
In what you had to call a thriller in Manila, Pero Cameron’s Tall Blacks dodged a bullet to keep alive their shot at a top-16 finish at the Fiba World Cup with a dramatic overtime victory over Jordan on Monday night.
Led by a game-changing 23 points (7/14 FG, 4/8 3PT), 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals from sharpshooting guard Izayah Le’afa off the bench and a heady double-double of 15 points (5/12 FG, 5/5 FT),10 assists and 2 steals from playmaker Shea Ili the New Zealanders got the win they required to improve to 1-1 in Group C, with just Thursday’s (NZT) pool closer against Greece to come.
The Tall Blacks will need to win that to advance to the top-16 phase of the tournament.
But they at least gave themselves a chance in the face of a massive effort from Jordan as power forward Finn Delany chipped in with a poised 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, while starting centre Yanni Wetzell came through a tough battle with hard-nosed Jordan centre Ahmad Al-Dwairi (19 points, 10 rebounds) to finish with 13 points and 6 boards before fouling out late in regulation.
Isaac Fotu also added 11 points and 4 boards and Jordan Ngatai 9 (on three triples) as the New Zealanders kept alive their record of never having lost to a side form the Asia region at the World Cup.
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Isaac Fotu goes up with the ball in New Zealand’s Fiba World Cup overtime victory over Jordan.
Former NBA player Rondae Hollis-Jefferson paced Jordan with a massive 39 points (on 12-of-24 shooting), 9 rebounds and 4 assists, while speedy guard Freddy Ibrahim pitched in with 22 points and 9 dimes.
Cameron’s men shot the three-ball well throughout (13 of 25 at 52%), went 37 of 70 from the floor overall and kept Jordan to a respectable 43% shooting clip (29 of 68) and an icy 6 of 24 from deep.
Jordan won the rebound battle 44-37, but the New Zealanders held a 37-4 advantage in points off the bench and were plus-10 (29-19) in points off turnovers. The biggest lead for the Tall Blacks was 12 (late in the second) but Jordan simply would not go away as they rallied behind their naturalised former NBA regular, Hollis-Jefferson.
A hot shooting first two quarters from deep kept the Tall Blacks in the driver’s seat through the first half, with the Kiwis leading 21-18 after one and 46-37 at the major break, behind 15 first-half points from Le’afa and 13 from Delany.
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Shea Ili blocks the shot from Ahmad Al-Dwairi in the Tall Blacks’ vital Group C World Cup victory over Jordan.
Collectively they made a half-dozen triples as they went 9 of 15 from beyond the arc for the half to keep the Jordanians at arm’s length throughout. Hollis-Jefferson poured in 17 first-half points, on 6-of-12 shooting, for the Middle East nation.
The New Zealanders took good care of the ball, too, through the first two periods, committing just 5 turnovers (to 10 by Jordan) which led to nine more shots for the half and an 18-6 edge in points off giveaways. The Tall Blacks also held a 20-0 advantage in points off the pine.
Cameron’s men withstood a run or two from the Jordanians to retain their nine-point advantage (65-57) at the three-quarter mark and looked in control when they took an 11-points advantage, at 75-64, in the opening minutes of the final stanza.
But Jordan then went on a 10-0 run behind some outstanding play from Ibrahim to close to within one midway through the final term and then, remarkably, tied the contest at 85-85 with 10 seconds remaining on a four-point play from Hollis-Jefferson via Wetzell’s unfortunate foul.
That sent the game to overtime, and from there the Tall Blacks kept their cool as they established a buffer on Le’afa’s early triple and a three-point play by Ili to seal the deal.
