The Tall Blacks have qualified for next year's World Cup.
Shea Ili in action against Jordan Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The New Zealanders beat Jordan 100-72 in Auckland last night and then had their place confirmed at the World Cup a few hours later as the Philippines beat Saudi Arabia.
Those results meant that the unbeaten Tall Blacks and the second placed Lebanon can't be overtaken for two of the top three spots in their Asian qualifying group.
The Tall Blacks will be making their sixth straight World Cup appearance next year, as well as their seventh in total.
They will be looking to improve on their 19th-placed finish from World Cup 2019 and aiming to replicate the success of their run in 2002 where they made it all the way to the Semi-Finals.
That 2002 squad featured FIBA Hall of Famer Pero Cameron who is now head coach for the current team.
New Zealand and Lebanon now join co-hosts the Philippines and Japan as teams from Asia and Oceania in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
After racing out to a 29-10 first quarter lead against Jordan last night, the Kiwis controlled and game thanks to their superior rebounding and outside shooting.
Shea Ili led the Tall Blacks with a solid 16 points, 5 rebounds & 5 assists, and was ably supported by a pair of youngsters in Ben Gold (15 points and 8 rebounds) and Flynn Cameron (13 points & 6 assists). Ethan Rusbatch and Reuben Te Rangi also chipped in with 14 and 11 points respectively.
With their 100-72 win, the Tall Blacks put on arguably their best shooting display of the year; hitting 16 threes at a 46% clip, including 4 triples from Rusbatch in another great performance. New Zealand also dominated the boards 54 to 38, including 20 offensive rebounds which led to 24 second chance points.
Two facets of the game that the Kiwis will look to improve; their free throw shooting (14/23 at a 61% clip) and their turnovers - the latter a result of 11 steals from Jordan on the night.
Meanwhile Australia are close to confirming their World Cup spot from the other group in Asian qualifying.
32 teams will compete in the 2023 World Cup which for the first time will be hosted by three nations: the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
