Rounding Up The Tall Ferns’ Exploits At The 2021 Asia Cup
The Tall Ferns hit up the Asia Cup having not played an international basketball game in almost two years. Yet another Aotearoa national team who’d disappeared since the pandemic hit - even this tournament came with no guarantee of kiwi participation what with the logistical troubles of trying to travel at the moment (and then organising MIQ spots for when they get back). But they got there. They made it to Jordan, where the Asia Cup had been moved to after India was unable to host it.
Albeit not entirely at full strength due to the obvious reasons. Several players in the USA college system couldn’t get there, Stella Beck got injured in pre-travel training, while the Tall Ferns’ all-time most capped played Micaela Cocks ultimately chose to stay behind after being a part of the extended squad. She’s had a kid in the last year and therefore had to juggle priorities - although note that Tessa Boagni’s young son was a popular travelling companion with the squad. Toni Farnworth has also retired since the last Tall Ferns camp with 104 caps to her name. Meanwhile at the other end of the experience scale Ash Kelman-Poto was close to a debut but a pesky ankle injury has held her back. She and Cocks were the last two players cut from the extended group.
Even still, the Leger-Walker sisters were in tow (the first time they’ve ever played together for the Tall Ferns, apparently) and with them comes excitement no matter where they’re playing. There’s some wicked strong talent coming through kiwi basketball these days and Charlisse Leger-Walker is the flagbearer. At 20 years old, and with Micaela Cocks unable to partake, this was a chance for her to really run the show in a way which she’ll probably continue to do for the next decade plus. The Ferns finished fifth at this tournament in 2019 and were sixth at their first attempt in 2017. The target here was top four... and hopefully World Cup qualifying advancement, more on that later.
TALL FERNS VS SOUTH KOREA
Things got underway against South Korea but they didn’t go so well. The long gap between Tall Ferns camps looked obvious, the cobwebs were there to be seen, and the disrupted NZ national league didn’t help either. A lot of the ladies were simply short of match practice. Not short on energy or enthusiasm though, albeit that probably led to a few too many turnovers as the Ferns tried to push the ball. Missed jump shots were a factor too. Plus more than anything they were struggling to keep up on their defensive rotations against a slick South Korea side which kept on working open shots and then just kinda generally shooting the lights out.
The Ferns never led again after the first five minutes of the game. They got back within two points midway through the first quarter at 34-32 but then ended up trailing 46-38 at the break. No crazy runs for South Korea. They just steadily added to that lead the whole way through to eventually win it 85-69. And that was after both teams eased up a bit in the fourth quarter.
Charlisse Leger-Walker started on the bench but wasn’t able to bring the impact we’d hoped. When you’re one of the top college players in the USA system before even beginning your sophomore campaign then opposing teams are going to take notice of you no matter where you’re playing. She was constantly under close guard, preventing her from being able to do what she does so well for Washington State and blitzing past defenders and getting to the rim. You’d have thought she was magnetic or something. Having said that, it wouldn’t have been such a problem had the Ferns been able to drill some three pointers but they couldn’t, shooting 6/26 from outside whereas South Korea were knocking them down in their sleep for 13/30 at 43.3% - Hyejin Park hit six of them on the way to 20 points while Isaem Choi shot 5/7 from deep within her 29 points. The pair of them were unstoppable. The Tall Ferns had no answers.
They did have some quality moments when they were able to get Penina Davidson on the ball in the paint. Finding any sort of room inside was tough for a team whose outside shooters weren’t earning much respect but Davidson’s rebounding opened the door there. 21 points and 11 rebounds there for her. Mary Goulding had a nice impact in small minutes too. But a rusty start to the tournament all the same.
TALL FERNS VS JAPAN
Luckily the format of the Asian Cup was stacked in the Tall Ferns favour as only one team from each group of four is eliminated after the group stage. The top team from each pool goes straight to the semis and then it’s a couple of second versus third games to determine the others. So the Tall Ferns could get away with a slow start. Their second game against Japan would not be do or die.
That was a relief because while the defence made steady improvements against Japan, who to be fair were never likely to catch fire the way that Korea had done, they once again never mustered the offence to get over the hill. There were some good looks that went wonky. There were also multiple times when all their movement on the edge led to nothing substantial and they ended up heaving the ball late in the shot clock. That Japanese team was so well drilled, so quick on the read. But also the Tall Ferns didn’t have the dynamic athletes (outside of CLW) nor the shooters to be able to take Japan out of their sets. By the fourth quarter you could literally hear the NZ bench start to count down the late shot clock for those on the court, 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
Then you chuck in 23 turnovers and that’s how New Zealand managed to lose by double figures despite holding Japan to only 62 points. 62-50 was the score. Ferns only making four triples all game. Nobody scored in double figures. Krystal Leger-Walker bagged 9 points after being held scoreless vs KOR and Tessa Boagni also scored 9, shooting 4/4 from the field. It was as much about Japan’s impressive defence as it was about the Tall Ferns playing below standards so panic need not ensue. However that lack of variety in the squad was on show here more than anywhere. Stephanie Mawuli top scored for the game with 15 points. It was abrasive. Moving on now.
TALL FERNS VS INDIA
That did mean it was a must-win against India... but India had already lost 136-46 to Japan and 107-69 to South Korea so there was no reason why the kiwis wouldn’t be able to get that done. Not that they were taking any chances – within the first minute you had Charlisse Leger-Walker diving on a loose ball in the mid-court. It was typical Aotearoa basketball. Very physical, great off the boards, keeping things aggressive and drawing plenty of fouls.
Yet again Penina Davidson was right in amongst it all. 18 points and 11 rebounds in a shade under 20 minutes. She wasn’t the only one. Charlisse Leger-Walker was having lots more success driving the ball. Tessa Boagni got hungry too with 13 points and 9 rebounds. India did have some moments when they were able to attack downhill but the Ferns were always in control so long as they got through those transitional phases. India couldn’t keep up with the rebounding. Nor could they really stop the Ferns from scoring. 28 points on the board in the first quarter and the carnage carried on even as the depth players got their moments.
Every player in the squad got at least 9:50 of court time. Krystal Leger-Walker, doing her usual pass-first thing on the way to four assists, was the only player who didn’t score a point. Every player had multiple rebounds. Every player attempted a three-pointer (and in the second half they even started making some!). Every player had an assist. Every player had an on-court plus/minus of at least +12. Mary Goulding matched Davidson with 18 points. CLW, Boagni, and Brooke Blair all scored 13. Ashley Karaitiana added 11 to be the sixth player in double figures for Aotearoa. Much better on all counts even considering the weaker opposition. 109-49 was the final score and that meant a playoff with Australia for a spot in the semis.
TALL FERNS VS AUSTRALIA
The old rivals, aye? Although same as with many sports, the rivalry only really goes one way because the Tall Ferns haven’t beaten Australia since 2008 which was the only time they’ve beaten Australia in a test. When they played in the 2019 version of this event the kiwis lost 82-44. A year prior the Opals beat us 109-50 at the Commonwealth Games. Granted this wasn’t their strongest line-up by any means, literally nobody from their Olympic squad backed up here – in fact their head coach didn’t even travel with assistant Paul Goriss taking charge instead. Definitely more of a development side with an average age of 25 and only three of 12 players based outside of Australia. One of whom being Sami Whitcomb whose WNBA side New York Liberty were knocked out of the playoffs at the first hurdle a couple weeks back but she was here to stake her claim, the oldest player on the Aussie roster by nearly five years.
You could tell it was a massive game because the Leger-Walker sisters came out with a mindset to dominate like we hadn’t before seen. Krystal got things started with a floater for two before Charlisse drew a foul off Whitcomb for a couple free throws, then Krystal set up Charlisse for a triple that missed but Charlisse nailed a pull-up soon after. The pattern was evident. Unfortunately Sami Whitcombe was equally out for blood. When CLW was subbed off with 3:40 remaining in the first, she had 7 points, 2 assists, and a steal already... Whitcomb also took a rest at the same time with 8 points, 3 assists, and a steal. Helpfully a couple mean doses of Chevannah Paalvast battlin’ ensured it was all steady at 20-all after one quarter.
You know how this yarn goes though. The Tall Ferns hung tight but they didn’t have that next gear to go to and things got away from them late in the second quarter when the fatigue from all that energetic basketball caught up with them. A few bad misses in there, Charlisse Leger-Walker included, and they were down 40-34 at the break. They found a few extra reserves of steam after half-time but Aussie kept hitting them pesky triples to keep the Ferns at arm’s length. Whitcomb was absolutely in control, she was so assured.
The Tall Ferns weren’t quite out of this yet. Mary Goulding had another burst off the bench with a big triple late third and then Penina Davidson and CLW got to work early fourth to close the gap. When KLW swung a lovely backdoor cutting assist to Goulding and then popped a three-banger herself it was 59-56 with four minutes remaining. Only three points down. Then Whitcomb immediately got to the free throw line and Darcee Garbin nailed a three and fast forward to two minutes to go and the lead was back up to ten points. CLW tried for a few hopeful trebles that made her stats look a bit uglier (1/8 from deep for the game) and it ended 72-61. The Ferns always competitive but always playing from behind. Never had that 6-8 point run in them when they needed one, the stops and buckets didn’t align. Their best performance of the Asia Cup but it wasn’t enough.
Whitcomb finished with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. She was outrageously good (though she had a potential game-winner blocked at the buzzer as Aussie lost to Japan in the semis, just so you know). For the TFs it was CLW with 17 points and 4 assists, albeit shooting 7/20 from the field, and KLW with 12 points (5/10), 4 rebounds, and 6 assists who led the way. Also the YouTube highlights seem to have gone missing so sorry ‘bout that, direct your blame towards FIBA because it’s their fault.
TALL FERNS VS CHINESE TAIPEI
Thus for the third time in a row the Aotearoa team found themselves in a fifth-placed playoff against Chinese Taipei. In 2017 they lost 65-45 in a real stinker where they only scored 4 points in the first quarter. In 2019 they won 71-56 thanks to 18 points from Micaela Cocks. This time? Well, this time...
This time got underway with CLW hitting Davidson for an easy lay-up in close and then chucking one up herself after a great hustling steal from Goulding, promoted to the starting five here to cap a lovely tournament. Then Kalani Purcell swished a three, then KLW threw a superb long pass in for Goulding to slip in. The pressure was off, the opposition wasn’t quite as daunting, and the Tall Ferns were fully invested in leaving on a positive note. Heaps of intent to get that ball inside and take advantage of a smaller side.
Chinese Taipei came back into it as the subs started rolling deeper into the first quarter and things were tied back at 16-apiece at the buzzer. But then the Ferns started the second with a 15-4 run to establish a lead that they’d hold the rest of the way. Nina Davidson was pretty much getting whatever she wanted, working that inside body position and allowing her teammates to feed that ball in. Not to mention the rebounds that she’d supplied all tournament.
With Kalani Purcell also scooping rebounds that allowed the Ferns to hold steady and coach Guy Molloy was able to begin mixing up his rotations throughout the fourth quarter as every player in the squad got some game time. Davidson finished with 26 points and 7 boards. Purcell had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Leger-Walkers had 9 assists between them. 74-59 was the final score. Fifth place for the Tall Ferns in the 2021 Asia Cup. Yeah go on then.
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
Fifth was exactly where they deserved to be based on the comparative standard of the teams around them but it did fall short of the pre-tournament target of fourth. So that’s a bummer. Worse still because they needed to at least get top four in order to stay in contention for the next World Cup. Actually once they drew Australia in the playoffs they needed to finish top three for that reward. It’s a strange one.
The Asia Cup is a continental tournament but it had a secondary purpose of providing the four teams from Asia and Oceania who’d advance to the World Cup qualifying tournaments which’ll be held in February. Sixteen teams stemming from the four continental champs: Asia Cup, AmeriCup, EuroBasket, and Afrobasket. In order to figure that out, those sixteen teams get split into four groups of four with the top three from each advancing. Three times four equals twelve and there you go.
Except it gets extremely bloody stupid here because hosts Australia and Olympic champs USA in the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup have actually already qualified. Yet for some reason they still compete in these qualifying tournaments. No matter which groups they get drawn in, they’re going through regardless so the other three teams in those groups are battling for two spots. Seems very pointless.
It was even dumber from a Tall Ferns perspective. If they’d beaten Australia in the playoff then they’d have still needed to win either a semi or a third-place game because Australia would therefore have finished outside the top four yet still would have been due the fourth qualifier spot. You’d have figured they don’t need to be involved in that at all considering there’s nothing to play for, in which case that fourth qualifier spot could have gone to Aotearoa for finishing fifth overall. But nah gotta qualify for the tournament you’ve already qualified for automatically and remove an extra team from contention, shot for that one FIBA. The Tall Ferns probably would have missed out anyway given that a 12-team World Cup is swimming way beyond their usual depth but it’s still odd. Very odd.
THE EXTRAS
Ah well, nevertheless.
It’s not hard to pinpoint the ways in which this Tall Ferns team came up short in Jordan. There are a lot of players who all have pretty similar skill sets and not enough of them involve shooting. When the Ferns were able to get into the paint then they were dangerous as hell but it was tough to do that, especially against the best teams, without offering that threat of outside buckets. Spacing and all that. Here’s how the TFs fared from three-pointers throughout the tournament...
vs KOR – 6/26 for 23.1%
vs JAP – 4/19 for 21.1%
vs IND – 13/35 for 37.1%
vs AUS – 7/29 for 24.1%
vs CTP – 5/16 for 31.2%
Overall that’s an ugly 35-125 for 28.0%, a percentage that only India can top for inefficiency across the tournament. China and Korea were both shooting above 40% from deep as a team while Australia wasn’t far behind. The Ferns also had the second worse free throw percentage, only making 40 of their 61 attempts. Mary Goulding did shoot 4/10 from 3pters to be the best of the Fernies. Brooke Blair made 5/13 as well. After that it gets scary.
Fair to say that Charlisse Leger-Walker didn’t quite have the tournament she’d have been hoping for either. 11 points per game with 3 assists, 3/2 rebounds, and a steal... but she was only 5/22 from deep and shot 38.2% overall. You could see the mentality out there. She was trying ceaselessly to be the focal point of this team on offence... but that’s the thing about being a 20 year old college star. There you’re playing against players your own age, here you’ve got the likes of Sami Whitcomb out to teach a few lessons. Other teams targetted her and crowded out her space, trying to get the ball out of her hands. Teammates couldn’t really deliver in response. It was tough but it was a learning curve for sure. Now it’s back to Washington State, along with her sister who gets a bonus covid year of eligibility, to rip up the PAC-12 some more.
Nina Davidson was the team’s MVP in Jordan. Don’t even worry about it. With 15.4 points per game she was the third top scorer at the comp (shooting 61.1% from the field) and she also happened to be second on the rebounding charts too with 8.0 per game. Elsewhere obviously the Leger-Walkers were still hugely influential and their efforts against Australia were first and foremost there. Krystal picks and chooses her shots a so the scoring wasn’t always eye-boggling but some of her passing certainly was. With 20 assists across the comp she was the only kiwi in the top ten there.
Plus Mary Goulding was excellent with her scoring and energy off the bench. She came into the Asia Cup in good form and definitely upped her stocks with how she played – defensively as well as offensively, MG had a steal in every game. Didn’t see as much of Tessa Boagni in the last couple games but she was very good in the group stage. Kalani Purcell has a history of loving a bit of Asia Cup ball and she was always a reliable force. Made multiple buckets in all five games. It was never through lack of trying from any of them.
But you know what the overwhelming feeling was after all that? It was how bloody great it was to have international basketball back. As strange and confusing as these FIBA outings can sometimes be, there’s just something different about the Tall Ferns and Tall Blacks that refreshes the soul. We were too long without it. It just wasn’t right. Pray, never again.
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