The Tall Blacks’ hopes of playing at the Paris Olympics have been dealt a further blow following a defeat to Mexico in their first FIBA World Cup World Cup classification game in Manila. 

After finishing third in their group, and failing to advance to the second round, the Tall Blacks are playing for one of the Asia/Oceania spots in the Olympic Qualifier tournament next year. 

Last night’s 108-100 to defeat to Mexico leaves the Tall Blacks in must-win territory in their final game against Egypt while also canvassing the results of other Asian teams. 

With only a 20-hour turnaround from their final group defeat with Greece, the Kiwis struggled early and started the game flat. Mexico grabbed a 48-34 lead on the strength of their hot shooting – a blistering 9/15 from outside – and a late fourth quarter comeback reduced New Zealand’s deficit to four thanks to Reuben Te Rangi and Finn Delany. 

But New Zealand were unable to snatch the come-from-behind win in the closing minutes, dropping to 1-3 in this World Cup and putting their Olympic 2024 hopes in jeopardy. 

Te Rangi led the Kiwis with a scorching 32 points on 6-9 shooting from three, while Delany had 19 points (5-12 from outside) and Shea Ili had another strong effort with 18 points and 10 assists. Yanni Wetzell added nine points and four rebounds, while Isaac Fotu had eight and five. 

For Mexico, Pako Cruz was invaluable with his 27 points on 6/9 shooting from beyond the arc, along with five assists. Fabián Jaimes had 17 points, 11 rebounds (six offensive) and seven assists, while Gabriel Girón and Joshua Ibarra had 16 apiece. 

Mexico ranked as the second-worst scoring team in the World Cup heading into the game at just shy of 70 points per game, while hitting 29 percent from three. But that changed dramatically, as the Mexicans racked up 108 points on 51 percent shooting, including 14/25 (56 percent) from beyond the arc. With six players scoring in double figures, Mexico led the game from the two-minute mark and never looked back. 

New Zealand also did well in the scoring column, hitting 17 threes at 41.5 percent, while also limiting their turnovers to 14 – well down on the 18 miscues averaged coming into this game. But they struggled with their rebounding, giving up 16 offensive boards, and in protecting the paint; Mexico with a massive 46-26 advantage in the paint thanks to clever passing and penetration to the hoop. 

With Mexico leading by 19 midway through the third, the Kiwis did well to reduce the deficit to 10 thanks to a 9-0 run that featured triples by Ngatai and Ili; the latter scoring 11 straight points at one point to keep New Zealand within striking distance. 

In the pivotal fourth, it was Delany who stepped up first with a pair of triples to reduce the deficit to six points, then Te Rangi caught fire in the final minutes – scoring 11 straight, including three triples – to bring the Kiwis to within four with a minute remaining. But Mexico kept their cool, as Cruz sunk a dagger three with 29 seconds left and Girón sealed the win with a pair of layups. 

Tall Blacks coach Pero Cameron says that the team has to focus on the next game and their goal in this competition – a place in the Olympic Qualifier event in June 2024. 

“We’ve still got another game, and our focus on recovery is right now the next 12-14 hours, and also coaches are going into looking at the [Egypt] game. We’ve got to put this game aside now and flush it,” Cameron said. 

“I just want to acknowledge that we may have been a little flat but Mexico played really well and shot the s*** out of it so hat’s off to their coach and their group for hanging tough with it. We’ve gotta move onto the next game, there’s no easy games at the World Cup and we next play in a day and a half - so we must turn around and play better. We’re still playing for something, we’re playing for a bid at the qualifiers which is important for us.”