CHRISTCHURCH (New Zealand) - New Zealand used a big fourth-quarter to overcome the gallant stand of an upset-hungry Chinese Taipei, 81-64, at the Wolfbrook Arena on Monday to secure their ticket to the FIBA Asia Cup 2025.
Shea Ili and Tom Vodanovich opened the chapter with crucial plays to shift the momentum in their favor, and Sam Waardenburg would take it from there as the Tall Blacks bounced back from a stinging defeat to the Philippines last Thursday.
Yet they assisted their budding rivals, as the result versus the East Asian side also enabled Gilas (4-0) to book its own berth in next year's continental meet.
Now the two have become the latest to book their flights to Saudi Arabia as they join the hosts, Japan, and defending two-time Asia Cup champions Australia.
"I said in the group in the locker room, we got the job done," offered head coach Judd Flavell. "These are good lessons for us to learn moving forward."
Waardenberg top-scored for New Zealand with 16 points and 13 rebounds, together with 6 assists, a steal, and a block each for an efficiency of 25 in the win that improved their record to 3-1 to stay at no. 2 in Group B behind the Philippines.
Ili flexed his craftiness at the one and delivered 12 points and 8 assists, while Vodanovich chipped in 11 points, 5 rebounds, and a pair of steals.
It was Ili who began the fourth on a high note, attacking the middle before scoring off a foul by Brandon Gilbeck to push their lead to 54-47.
He wasn't able to complete the three-point play but Vodanovich was there to collar the offensive board, and went on to accomplish what Ili couldn't as he also got sent to the line while converting inside before making his bonus from the line.
The crew slowly gained steam from those sequences, especially Vodanovich himself as he scored off the break moments later to make it a 59-47 edge with 9:18 to go.
It would be all Tall Blacks since, with Waardenberg powering a 9-3 run en route to a 68-52 lead with 5:05 left as Chinese Taipei were visibly exhausted at that point - that, after climbing from a slow 23-6 start by running the floor, especially during the third.
New Zealand have now swept Chinese Taipei in these Qualifiers. They won their Window 1 encounter via big margin as well, 89-69, last February in Taipei.
And just like in their first encounter, the rebounding disparity played a major factor in the result, with the Tall Blacks dominating the boards anew, 57-35 - including a 25-5 difference on the offensive end that led to 20 second-chance points.
Al Bachir finished with 14 points to lead Chinese Taipei, who fell to 1-3 in the group. Ray Chen and Lu Chun Hsiang added 12 points apiece in the defeat.
Wasted by the loss, meanwhile, were the 7 blocks of Brandon Gilbeck, which is now the Asia Cup Qualifiers single-game record. He finished the window with 12 blocks, the most across a 2-game span in a window across all Continental Cup Qualifiers.
FIBA