New Zealand secured its sixth straight win in the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers with a 126-74 rout of skidding Syria on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Tall Blacks improved to 6-2 in Group E to gain solo second place, ahead of Iran and Jordan. Both teams will play later in the day against Gilas Pilipinas and Australia, respectively.
“A much better second half for us. I think we started off great at the start of the game, and then we probably took the foot off the pedal in some aspects. Syria did a good job of just making it a ball game in their first half,” said New Zealand head coach Judd Flavell after completing a perfect fourth window, also beating Iran in overtime, 93-91, on Friday.
“We sort of challenged the group, challenged each other at halftime. What can we do in this third quarter just to really stamp our mark on the game,” he continued.
The Nosour Qasioun remained within striking distance midway through the second frame, trailing by just 11 points. However, the Tall Blacks imposed their will late in the quarter to take a 65-43 advantage into halftime.
That late surge opened the floodgates for New Zealand, which erupted in the third quarter and outscored Syria, 34-12, to build an insurmountable 44-point lead, 99-55.
Syria’s lack of offensive output was largely due to James Justice Jr. being held to just two second-half points after exploding for 20 in the opening two quarters.
“Justice was doing a lot of damage in that first half. He didn’t have too many opportunities, but he made us pay when he did. It was a real focus of ours to keep him quiet in that second half,” said Flavell.
“We did that, which then led to us being able to get some rebounds and stops and be able to reward ourselves going the other way on the offensive end.”
Corey Webster led six Kiwis in double figures with 22 points, highlighted by six three-pointers. Sam Mennenga turned in a near-perfect outing with 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field and 4-for-5 from the line.
Flynn Cameron also shone with 21 points, four rebounds, three steals, and a block, while Reuben Te Rangi and Sam Waardenburg chipped in 13 points apiece.
Carlin Davison added 10 points as New Zealand shot a whopping 61.54-percent from the field, compared to Syria’s 40.3-percent.
Meanwhile, Syria saw its World Cup hopes dim further after falling to 2-6 and last place in the group.
Andree Michelsson was Syria’s next-highest scorer with nine points, while 19-year-old Maiar Albalbisi added eight.
The fifth window of the qualifiers is set for November 27 to 30.
The Scores:
New Zealand 126 — C. Webster 22, Cameron 21, Mennenga 20, Te Rangi 13, Waardenburg 13, T. Webster 9, Ili 8, Yates 4, McNaught 3, Timmins 3, Ngatai 0.
Syria 74 — Justice Jr. 22, Michelsson 9, Albalbisi 8, Alkordy 7, Hermes 7, Cheikh Ali 6, Maran 4, Makanas 3, Y. Abdullah 3, K. Abdullah 0, Idelbi 0.
Quarterscores: 31-19, 65-43, 99-55, 126-74.
