Centre Craig Bradshaw is beginning to feel more at home in the Dominion Finance New Zealand Tall Black rotation, shooting four three-pointers in their 74-82 loss to Latvia in Riga.

The contest was close throughout and the Kiwis enjoyed a 61-60 edge heading into the final quarter. Crucial turnovers again hurt them down the stretch and Latvia’s advantage swelled in the final seconds as their guests sent them to the free throw line in a bid to regain possession.

“It was a very good game,” observed Tall Black coach Nenad Vucinic. “Both teams played with passion and for us, it was back-to-back good performances."

“We probably turned the ball over too much – we had 18 turnovers to their 16 – but our shooting percentages were OK (35% 3pt, 50% 2pt)."

“Having two Latvian referees was a little suspect. The free throw count favoured Latvia 32-16, which was quite a significant difference.”

Latvia are ranked only 35th in the world, but have some quality players, including seven-foot centre Andris Biedrins, an NBA starter with the Golden State Warriors. In the past two weeks, they have beaten Hungary (61-53), Ukraine (80-69), Belarus (84-52) and world number five Lithuania (84-83).

“They are a good team playing well, probably a little above their weight, and they were certainly well supported by a hostile crowd,” said Vucinic.

Despite early foul trouble, Bradshaw led New Zealand in scoring with 16 points (4/8 3pt) in probably his most convincing performance of the tour so far.

“Coming into camp late was difficult for Craig, but he is getting a little more confident now with the plays and the system,” said Vucinic.

Mika Vukona was again the team’s chief source of rebounds, grabbing six at the offensive end, while point guard Mark Dickel continued to make progress after just a couple of days with the team, scoring his first points of the campaign.

“I’m really happy with the progress the team is making,” said Vucinic. “Obviously, they have had to adjust to me as a new coach, but they are doing really well."

“We have had some bad games, like against China, but it’s good to see us starting to hit some form. We are where we want to be.”

The Tall Blacks now head to Croatia, where they have several days of training and recovery before facing Finland on Sunday.

“It is very important we get some recovery,” insists Vucinic. “Their bodies need it."

“We have had three weeks in training camp, 11 games in the last 18 days and the 26 hours of travel from China to Latvia."

“The guys are in very good spirits, but they need a bit of rest.”

The FIBA Oceania Championships against Australia tip off on August 20 in Melbourne.

Dominion Finance NZ Tall Blacks In Latvia
Riga
Monday, August 7
Latvia 82 Dominion Finance NZ Tall Blacks 74 (Craig Bradshaw 16, Kirk Penney 11, Pero Cameron 11)
Quarter 12-17
Halftime 41-40 (29-23)
Threequarter 60-61 (19-21)
Fulltime 82-74 (22-13)