The New Zealand roster at the 2023 Basketball World Cup was mostly homegrown, and, considering the small pool of talent available, performed respectably.
Phoenix swoop to finish second in NBL Cup
South East Melbourne Phoenix have stormed home to finish the NBL Cup competition in second spot following a 103-89 victory over the New Zealand Breakers.
The Phoenix took out all four quarters at John Cain Arena on Sunday to claim a third win in the space of five days and rise above the Brisbane Bullets and Melbourne United, collecting $100,000 in prizemoney as runner-up to the Perth Wildcats.
Kyle Adnam was on fire against the Breakers.
Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
Mitch Creek and Kyle Adnam each scored 21 points and Ben Moore made eight of his nine shots to finish on 17, while Ryan Broekhoff played nine minutes in his second NBL appearance before sitting out most of the second half with hamstring soreness.
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NBL Cup: Sydney Kings hold off South East Melbourne Phoenix
Sydney Kings remain in contention for the NBL Cup after lifting in the second half to defeat South East Melbourne Phoenix 91-85.
The Kings came back from eight points down at John Cain Arena on Saturday night to snap a two-game losing run and extend their unbeaten record against the Phoenix to five matches.
Sydney entered Saturday s clash without a victory against a team currently in the top four, or having held on to win a close game, but achieved both goals thanks to 19 points from Dejan Vasiljevic and a double-double from Casper Ware (11 points, 10 rebounds).