Tall Blacks seal series win over Korea

 

Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic was in no mood to celebrate a series victory over Korea nailed in Auckland tonight after being hit by news key big man Alex Pledger is in doubt for the World Cup in Spain.

 

Given the deflection of Steven Adams who's been placed under wraps by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Pledger is close to the last guy Vucinic can afford to lose for the global tournament (August 30-Sept 14).

 

Pledger damaged ligaments in his big toe in the second test against the Koreans in Tauranga last Thursday and Vucinic yesterday learned his 2.15m centre will be out for four to six weeks. That puts his participation in Spain under a major cloud, and Vucinic with some serious thinking to do.

 

Barring a last-minute change of heart from the Thunder, or some miraculous healing from a guy not exactly renowned for his powers of regeneration, Vucinic faces heading to Spain without a legit centre in his squad - or at the very least one that won't have had a buildup to speak of.

 

At least Vicinic's team refound some form tonight following a decidedly off-key effort in Tauranga where they were pipped 76-75 after thrashing the Koreans by 33 points in the series opener.

 

The Tall Blacks breezed to a 10-point lead by the end of the opening quarter, doubled that advantage by the major break, still led by 18 after three and then rather stuttered to an 89-81 victory that got a lot closer than Vucinic would have liked in the final period.

 

The class acts measured up well in front of a middling crowd at the NSEC, Kirk Penney, Tom Abercrombie, Corey Webster and Mika Vukona pacing a much more consistent New Zealand effort.

 

Penney notched a game-high 26 points on six-of-12 shooting, a tally that included four of six attempts from beyond the arc as the Europe-based sharpshooter continued his impressive form in this series.

 

It was cheering, too, to see Abercrombie find his rhythm after a slow start to the international season, the springy Breakers notching 14 points (6/12 FG) and four boards in just 21 minutes on court.

 

Webster confirmed his status as very much Vucinic's "microwave" scorer off the bench with 11 points on five-of-10 shooting, while it was no surprise to anyone to see Vukona heading the rebound count with 15 boards to go with seven points and three assists.

 

What else was positive to offset Vucinic's injury gloom? Tai Webster logged some quality minutes at the point alongside his brother (and watched by their father, Kiwi NBL legend Tony), Isaac Fotu continued to emerge as an international quality power forward and there was even a tantalising glimpse of the exciting talents of 16-year-old Tai Wynyard who became the youngest ever Tall Black in this series.

 

There is still a lot of improvement needed for these New Zealanders who will at least welcome back Rob Loe from his NBA summer league commitments to bolster their big man stock. This is very much the start point of a long journey.

 

Their next assignment is the return series in Korea, then on to China, before they head to Europe to round out World Cup preparations.

 

Meantime Vucinic has some decisions to make around, not only his final squad, but how late he can afford to leave it with Pledger.

 

AT A GLANCE

 

New Zealand 89 (Kirk Penney 26, Tom Abercrombie 14, Corey Webster 11), Korea 81 (Sun Hyung Kim 17, Tae Jong Moon 13, Se Keun Oh 10, Sung Min Cho 10). 1Q: 24-14; HT: 52-32; 3Q: 78-60.

 

Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic probably learned more from the fallibilities of his side at Mount Maunganui tonight than he did from their success two days' previous.

After winning the opening match of the three-test series against the visitors 102-69 in Wellington on Tuesday night, the New Zealand men's side lost 76-75 to South Korea as part of their build-up programme to next month's World Cup in Spain.

To ensure all of the squad of 16 got game-time during the series, the hosts rested Nick Horvath, Josh Bloxham and teen sensation Tai Wynyard from their squad  and brought in Casey Frank, Jack Salt and Tohi Milner-Smith, while Isaac Fotu was ruled out late through illness.

The visitors were extremely active on defence early - despite two three-pointers from NZ shooting guard Kirk Penney - but their lack of size in comparison to the Tall Blacks almost immediately put them in foul trouble.

New Zealand were in the bonus from the free-throw line after less than three minutes, but they couldn't utilise the advantage of making extra trips to the charity stripe as the underdogs grabbed a 22-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

While they still suffered from mismatches under the basket, South Korea often nullified that with quick hands on defence, while their movement on offence helped them stretch their lead to eight points early in the second quarter as Vucinic tried to find a five that could be effective at both ends.

The combination of Corey Webster (at point guard), Penney, Thomas Abercrombie, Benny Anthony and Casey Frank helped the Tall Blacks draw back from 28-20 down to push back into the lead, and with prolific domestic scorer Webster prominent, the hosts went to the halftime break up 40-38.

Frank started the third quarter with usual starting centre Alex Pledger sidelined with a foot injury, as South Korean coach Jae Hak Yoo opted to run most of his bench.

They hung close to the hosts and when it looked like the Tall Blacks may push their lead to double-digits late in the period, South Korea clawed their way back to trail just 60-58 after Webster's buzzer-beater.

Vucinic started the final quarter with rookies Tai Webster and Tohi Milner-Smith on court, but with naturalised forward Tae Jong Moon proving a handful for the Tall Blacks' defence, South Korea led by four with less than seven minutes to play and the crowd sensed a large upset looming.

A Mika Vukona put-back kept New Zealand in the contest, leaving them needing a three to force overtime but Penney's shot rimmed out with 11 seconds left.

The hosts got the ball back and Penney looked to have tied the game with seconds left, but his shot was ruled a two rather than a three, with a toe on the line.

The final test will be played at the North Shore Events Centre on Saturday night.

AT A GLANCE 

Tall Blacks 75 (Corey Webster 20, Kirk Penney 19) South Korea 76 (Tae Jong Moon 21). HT: 40-38.

 

The Tall Blacks crushing win over South Korea in Wellington tonight was perhaps best summed up by head coach Nenad Vucinic when he said at the post match press conference ‘I think we jumped on them a little bit.’

 

That they did, the Tall Blacks easing to a 102-69 win at the TSB Arena to convincingly take out game one in the Burger King International Series and taking a truck load of confidence into game two in Tauranga on Thursday night. That after a dominant second quarter (34-11) that took the game beyond the Koreans, establishing a 32 point halftime lead.

 

After a shaky opening 3 minutes in which turnovers threatened to exceed points, the Tall Blacks found their mojo on the back of a Corey Webster injection from the bench and a 69% first half shooting record that simply took the Koreans out of the equation before they had time to digest the pre-game Haka.

 

Vucinic was pleased with an all-round effort from his team, with all 12 players getting good minutes and all 12 registering points. While Corey Webster shone with stats filled contribution and Kirk Penney led all scorers, it was an all-round team contribution that pleased the coach most.

 

“I think we jumped on them a little bit in the first half, they are not as bad a team as they showed in that first half and we expect a much tougher challenge in Tauranga, and especially when we go to Korea in a few weeks. These five games against Korea will be great for us, they play at a high pace, they execute very well and they are very tough to defend. They missed a lot of open shots tonight so we will have to improve our defence in the second game. Having said that I can’t take credit away from our guys, they played well as a team, and spread the scoring as well so I am satisfied with the start to the Burger King Series.”

 

Captain Mika Vukona echoed his coach’s sentiments, pleased with his team but wary of a backlash from Korea.

 

“It is a five game series and there is a long way to go, they will be a different team in Tauranga, they showed that in the second half, they don’t lie down and we struggled a little bit, but this is a great team for us to play and we got everyone on the floor and just to feel a part of it was special for guys like Tai and Isaac especially.”

 

Tai Wynyard took the floor in the first half, in doing so becoming the youngest ever Tall Black to suit up at 16 years and 5 months. He played beyond those years though, putting up 6 points on 2 of 3 shooting and picking up 5 boards in 9 minutes on court.

 

“We know Tai, we have followed him the last couple of years at the Breakers Academy and in age group teams and we know he is good and we know his talent,” said Vucinic. “We are though pleasantly surprised that he is not phased out in playing for the Tall Blacks. We know he is a great talent but it is up to him to get that talent through, if he does fulfil that potential he is going to be one of the stars.”

 

Vukona was asked his thoughts on the future of the Tall Blacks at the FIBA World Cup in Spain and beyond, not just on the back of this one performance but on the evidence of the young talent coming through in recent years.

 

“Exciting, really exciting. When you have guys like Isaac, Tai Webster, Tai Wynyard and Jack Salt it is pretty exciting for New Zealand basketball. As one of the veterans in the team to look at these guys, Jack Salt showed his composure on our tour in China last year, to know these guys can step up and make that progression, for me it is pretty exciting. And to see guys go to the States and come back, we still have Rob Loe to come back as well, New Zealand’s basketball future is pretty bright and to be a part of it is exciting as well.”

 

The Tall Blacks and Korea now move on to Tauranga tomorrow to prepare for game two in the Burger King Series on Thursday night, before game three is played at the North Shore Events Centre in Auckland on Saturday night. Tickets for all games at www.ticketek.co.nz

 

Tall Blacks 102 Kirk Penney 17pts; Isaac Fotu 8pts, 10rebounds; Corey Webster 15pts, 7assists, 5rebounds; Benny Anthony 11pts; Nick Horvath 10pts, Alex Pledger 9pts, 8rebounds; Mika Vukona 9pts, 4assists, 5rebounds.

South Korea 69 Jongkyu Kim 15pts; Taejong Moon 14pts;

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