mystro
Years ago
Tallblacks go down to Serbia
34 Points from Kirk Penney was not enough to get the Tallblacks over the line against Serbia in their opening game of the Adidas international tournament in Istanbul.
The 3rd quarter NZ went Ice cold at the offensive end and were punished by the Serbs 27-12.
Penney had 23points in the first half including shooting 5 from 5 from the 3point arc to put NZ up by 8 at the major break (59-51).
After the break the Serbs came back with a 7point run before piling on 14 more points to lead by double digits. tough D from the Serbs limited penney to just 1 missed shot in the 3rd.
Serbian guard Stefan Markovic hit back-to-back threes early in the final quarter to put the contest beyond the Tall Blacks' grasp, but the Kiwis worked hard to close a 15-point deficit to as little as five over the run home.
Penney led all scorers with 34 points (11/17 FG, 7/8 3pt, 5/8 FT), but was the only New Zealand player in double-figures. Forward Mika Vukona had six points and seven rebounds, while comeback skipper Pero Cameron got through 11 solid minutes. The Tall Blacks coughed up just 12 turnovers, but converted better from long-range (42 percent) than in two-point territory (40 percent).
New Zealand has just a day to regroup before meeting hosts Turkey in the second game of the tournament, early Sunday (NZ time)
