The New Zealand men's basketball team surged to their second successive win in their Olympic qualifying buildup in Canada today.
Thanks to a game-high 22 points from shooting guard Kirk Penney, the Tall Blacks beat world No 17 Canada 77-69 to end the Jack Donohue International Classic tournament in Toronto with a 2-1 record.
They had earlier beaten Lebanon following a 27-point loss to the Canadians.
Penney led all scorers today with 11 points at halftime, including a perfect three-for-three on three-point attempts, while captain Pero Cameron had nine points and four rebounds, and backup centre Nick Horvath seven points.
New Zealand led by 12 points with two minutes 33 seconds remaining in the half before a flurry of missed shots and turnovers led to three three-pointers from Canadian guards Jermaine Anderson and Rowan Barrett, leaving the Tall Blacks in front just 39-36 at the main break.
New Zealand now head to Slovenia for matches against the hosts plus Puerto Rico and Iran before travelling to Athens for the Olympic Games qualifying tournament.
They need to finish among the top three of 12 nations in Athens to join the New Zealand women's team in Beijing next month.
Result:- New Zealand 77 (Kirk Penney 22, Lindsay Tait 13, Nick Horvath 12, Pero Cameron 11) Canada 69 (Rowan Barrett 18). Halftime: 39-36.
