NZL - Tall Blacks fall twice in FYR of Macedonia

SKOPJE (FIBA Oceania Championship) - New Zealand suffered a couple of narrow defeats in Skopje over the weekend as they continued their preparations for their FIBA Oceania Championship showdown with Australia.

The Tall Blacks fell 78-72 to Montenegro and then slipped to a 68-67 defeat to the hosts, FYR of Macedonia.

Kirk Penney's 26 points led the Kiwis against Montenegro, who used a strong first half as a platform for victory.

"We outplayed them in the third quarter, but it's difficult to come all the way back from 15 points down early on," said Tall Blacks forward Leon Henry.

"It's a lesson to be learned - don't let these guys get away on you."

In the setback to the Macedonians, Tom Abercrombie led a balanced New Zealand attack with 12 points.

Lindsay Tait chipped in 11 points and both Penney and Corey Webster scored 10 apiece.

Pero Cameron, the former Tall Black player who is now an assistant coach, said of the defeat to Macedonia: "It was a really tough game with a lot of energy from both teams.

"There were a couple of calls for the home team which could have gone either way I thought…you get that when you're away from home.

"We had a couple of turnovers at the end of the game which didn't help."

The winner of the FIBA Oceania Championship will earn a trip to the London Games while the side that loses will be invited to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

FIBA