Oceania nations New Zealand and Australia completed their three-game sweep of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers’ second window on Monday.
The Tall Blacks capped their window with another dominant win, this time taking a 95-60 win over India to go to 3-0 in Pool A at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Surprisingly, India, ranked 80 in the world, kept close with the world no. 27 in the opening frame, falling behind by just four, 20-24.
Pero Cameron’s squad though turned it up in the second frame, locking India down to the tune of just seven points on a horrid 3-of-16 shooting. On the other end, Tom Vodanovich and Dion Prewster pour it on to give the Tall Blacks a 52-27 halftime lead.
The Tall Blacks cruised through the second half as they head home on top of the pool.
Vodanovich got 20 points and 10 rebounds while Prewster added 11 points.
Rob Loe, who was part of New Zealand’s 2019 World Cup squad, added 18 points and 10 rebounds while Taylor Britt chipped in 10 points.
India, who close out the window with a 0-3 slate, saw Arvind Kumar Muthu Krishnan, Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon, and Vishesh Bhriguvanshi all score 10 points apiece.
Gilas is second in the three-nation group with a 1-1 slate.
The Philippines will face India and New Zealand on the road come the third window from June 30-July 2.
Photo from FIBA.basketball
Over at the Okinawa Arena, the Boomers routed Chinese-Taipei, 90-71, to gain pole position in Group B.
Australian B.League imports Nick Kay, Angus Brandt, and Rhys Vague all had a hand in the rout.
Shimane’s Kay led the Boomers with a triple-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists while Brandt added 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Vague, who just like Brandt plays for Toray, added nine points, five rebounds, and two steals.
It was a dominant win for the now 3-0 Boomers, leading by as much as 23 points in the contest.
Jaylin Galloway also chipped in 13 points for Australi built on three treys.
Chinese-Taipei, who fell to 0-3, was led by Will Artino, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Chou Kuelyu, Yao Cheng Pai, and Siao Jin Wu all got 10 points apiece.
China is 2-0 in Pool B while Japan is 1-3.
