27 Jul 2013

Tall Blacks pipped by China

2:57 pm on 27 July 2013

The New Zealand basketball team have suffered a heart-breaking 63-62 loss to China after the veteran Wang Zhizhi scored on the buzzer in their second outing on Chinese soil at Luoyang.

Trailing 59-61, the Tall Blacks hit the front when the small forward Tom Abercrombie hit a three-pointer with just 10 seconds left on the clock.

But the home side found their seven-footer Wang under the basket and he was able to slot the winning basket.

New Zealand had dominated much of the contest, leading by as much as 17 in the second half, before China dominated the final quarter 23-9.

The Tall Blacks now travel to Shenzhen for a four-team tournament that starts with a clash against Cameroon on Sunday.