Recapping The Tall Blacks at the 2025 Asia Cup
Kiwi basketball has been on a roll lately. On top of another classic NBL season, on top of the Breakers returning to local ownership (and local values), on top of whatever Steven Adams is getting up to at any given moment, on top of the record number of NZers playing professionally and in college (men and women)... we’ve just had three major tournaments in a row in which the Aotearoa team finished in the top five. There was the Men’s U19 World Cup. There was the Women’s Asia Cup. Now we’ve wrapped up the Men’s Asia Cup. Every one of those teams won at least one knockout/classification game at those tournaments.
What the Men’s U19s did was unprecedented. What the Tall Ferns did was not unprecedented but was still pretty excellent under the circumstances. What the Tall Blacks did, in finishing fourth in Asia, was decent... but it’s a reflection of the high standards that team has set for itself that it’s easily the most disappointing of the three, particularly with they way they ended by losing twice against nations they proved, during spells in both games, that they could have beaten had they only tidied up a few things.
But then we have to take a look at the squad that Judd Flavell had at his disposal and ponder the circumstances. If names like Reuben Te Rangi, Tyrell Harrison, Finn Delany, Shea Ili, Izayah Le’Afa, Corey Webster, Tai Webster, Isaac Fotu, Sam Waardenburg, Sam Mennenga, Hyrum Harris, and Yanni Wetzell mean anything to you... well, none of them were available. That meant an Asia Cup squad with lots of inexperience. It meant new combinations. It meant different roles for the more established blokes. It meant fresh leadership. And while the TBs did grab some very eye-catching results during their preparations, it’s the tournament itself that counts. Warm-up wins mean nothing if you then tumble out of the competition you were warming up for.
It might sound like a bit of a double-standard to look at the Tall Ferns finishing fifth with an inexperienced squad as an encouraging outcome, then to look at the Tall Blacks finishing fourth with an inexperienced squad as an underachievement. The difference is that the Ferns also had a relatively new coach and their inexperience ran deeper. Plus the defeats they suffered against South Korea, China, and Japan were all cases where the New Zealanders were simply over-matched by stronger opponents. Maybe the South Korea game they could have tipped, they were seconds away from taking it to overtime after all. But only that one. And they also provided the positive tinge of finishing with a win against the Philippines.
With the Tall Blacks, their two losses against China and Iran were both the consequence of sloppy starts. They took too long to adjust to their opponents and had to play catch-up the rest of the way. Strong second half performances showed that they were good enough to beat those teams, even despite the players that were missing from the squad, but they couldn’t string four full quarters of that stuff together. Even the amazing comeback win against Lebanon in the quarters... the reason they had to spark a comeback was because of how poorly they started. They were trailing at half-time of the opening group game against Iraq too. For whatever reason, this was a pattern for the Tall Blacks at this tournament. Sometimes they overcame the slow starts, sometimes they did not.
Tall Blacks Points Differential By Quarter
The frustration stems from the fact that they were capable of more. Because anyone who’s watched the Canterbury Rams over the last couple years knows that Taylor Britt is not going to steer you wrong as a starting point guard. If you witnessed what Mojave King was doing with the Tauranga Whai then you’ve seen his potential as a serious scorer. Flynn Cameron, Carlin Davison, Ben Gold... these guys are like factory production lines for highlight plays. Knowing what we know about the ever-expanding depth of kiwi basketball, it wasn’t about who was missing. The guys that were there were good enough.
Alas, there’s plenty of talent in other countries too and we weren’t quite able to take advantage of a favourable draw (putting us on the other side of the bracket to Australia) by making an Asia Cup final for the first time. But you know what? If we’re feeling bummed out about finishing fourth then we must be doing something right in the bigger picture.
The Tournament
The Tall Blacks got their Asia Cup campaign off to a winning start by beating Iraq 100-78... although it sure wasn’t the comfortable victory that the scoreline suggests. In further proof that warm-up results have no bearing on tournament success, the TBs were fresh from beating top-20 ranked Montenegro and Brazil and then found themselves trailing at half-time against 92-ranked Iraq (New Zealand currently sits at 22). To be fair, world rankings are often even more irrelevant than warm-up results – especially in tournaments if the dual-nationals and naturalised citizens start popping up (that wasn’t really the case with Iraq though, whose one naturalised bloke was DeMario Mayfield who scored 9 points on 3/10 shooting).
The obvious problem was the Tall Blacks shooting 4/27 from threes across the first three quarters. There were some unlucky misses, there were some ill-advised attempts, there were times where they were maybe a little lazy in settling for the threes without trying to push for better looks. To make matters worse, Iraq shot 44% from deep across the game which always kept them hovering around. Because... other than that, the kiwis controlled all the stat aspects: +10 for rebounds, +3 for assists, +7 for steals... as well as 10 fewer turnovers and 8 fewer fouls. Fortunately, the fourth quarter solved everything. The TBs hit 5/7 threes in the frame and that opened up the whole offence as New Zealand scored 37 4Q points to win by 22. Taylor Britt topped with 21 points. Mojave King added 18 more. Plus Carlin Davison offered a typically entertaining 12p/8r/3a.
Game rua was against the Philippines, who’d had an unexpected loss against Chinese Taipei in their first outing. Jordan Ngatai who made sure that the three-point famine didn’t continue by knocking down a couple from the corner to get the kiwis rolling. The Tall Blacks built up a sturdy lead in the second, though Philippines hung around with some tough buckets of their own. Old mate Justin Brownlee scored 37 points for the Gilas including seven made threes to shrink the lead as low as four points late in the third (it had gotten as high as 18).
However, some gritty hoops over the last ten minutes closed out a 94-86 victory for Aotearoa. Taylor Britt had another hugely influential game scoring 19 points with 8 assists. Jordan Ngatai’s 22 points came on 7/8 shooting from the field (including 5/5 from threes). Flynn Cameron also scored 12 points and Mojave King 11 points, plus Ben Gold’s 6 points and 11 rebounds were very impressive in an expanded 20-minute outing. That place got super loud whenever the Gilas found any momentum but the deeper kiwi roster was able to get just enough stops to claim the win.
That left a meeting with Chinese Taipei in which to confirm top spot in the group... and this turned out to be the most straightforward of them all. The first quarter was close, only one point in it, but then the TBs found their rhythm via some rampant scoring – adding 30+ in each of the three remaining quarters. Taylor Britt was really good until finding some foul trouble (14p/4r/4a). Mojave King was superb through the middle frames (22p/8r/4a). Then Flynn Cameron took over at the end (28p/9r/8a). Ben Gold also chipped in with 14 points on perfect 5/5 shooting. All dozen players in the squad got at least four minutes on the floor as New Zealand won 118-78. The Tall Blacks shot 44.1% from threes in this match and out-rebounded CT by an astonishing 61-22.
Going three from three in the group stage meant that New Zealand skipped straight through to the quarters where they awaited the winner between Japan and Lebanon. That turned out to be Lebanon after a 97-73 victory... and that was where things got weird. Mojave King scored the first bucket but then Lebanon went on a 12-0 run and boosted their lead as high as 22 points inside the opening quarter. Turnovers and poor defence (and a very vocal crowd with about 95% Lebanon support) were causing carnage and yet the Tall Blacks steadily clawed their way back. Physicality had been an issue so Max Darling stepped into the spotlight and ended up scoring 18 points on 7/10 shooting (with 9 rebounds and 4 assists). Then the threes began to fall as Flynn Cameron (12p) and especially Mojave King (23p) got cooking. Somehow, some way, the Tall Blacks rallied to win it 90-86 and shake their way into the semis.
China were next after they took down South Korea 79-71 in the quarters. Always a tricky opponents, arguably the sleeping giants of international basketball. The Tall Blacks started with Britt/King/Ngatai/Darling/Smith-Milner and for most of the first quarter looked to be keeping things at a comfortable pace. Both sides knocked down some threes. There were fouls at both ends. No leads to speak of... until China went on an 11-0 run to close the first frame. Not ideal. China continued knocking down their threes and were getting to the free throw line. Neither of those applied to NZ but Flynn Cameron did inspire a wee comeback late in the half and the Tall Blacks could have even been ahead at the big break had Tohi Smith-Milner made either of the open triples he lined up inside the last ten seconds.
But there wasn’t a run. The kiwis kept chipping away yet China’s more consistent shot-making kept their lead hovering around that 4-8 point range for most of the third quarter. It was only one point with less than eight minutes to go after TSM drained a treble to make it 72-71. Then it got a bit ugly as China ran away with a 98-84 final scoreline. The TBs simply couldn’t get stops when they needed them. China held a +9 rebounding advantage and committed fewer fouls but the real difference was shooting: China shot 56.9% from the field, 46.2% (12/26) from threes, and 90.9% (20/22) free throws compared to New Zealand with 46.4% from the field, 27.3% (9/33) from threes, and 73.3% (11/15) free throws. China were led by 24 points from Rui Zhao who made five triples. New Zealand’s best were Taylor Britt with 21p/6a and Mojave King with 19 points
Thus the Tall Blacks were eliminated in the semi-finals of an Asia Cup for the third consecutive occasion. Both previous instances were against the Aussies, who went on to beat China 90-89 in the 2025 grand final and make it three championships in a row. But that wasn’t the end of the tournament because there was still the opportunity for New Zealand to match their 2022 effort by winning a third-place playoff. That game was against Iran (beaten 92-48 by Australia in the semis), it took place exactly 24 hours after tip-off of the Chinese fixture... and it didn’t go very well.
This game went back and forth through most of the first quarter until Iran pulled away on a 9-0 run to close the frame (including a banked buzzer-beating three). A lacklustre second quarter didn’t make things any easier and, for whatever reason (probably tiredness from playing a sixth game in 12 days), the Tall Blacks never really rallied like they did against Lebanon. They never found that burst of scoring that could have saved them. Very disappointing way to finish the tour, where once again their outside shooting was a let-down and they seemed to get out-hustled by a team that had lost by 44 points in their semi-final... perhaps still carrying the disappointment of that loss against China. Cameron scored 18 points. King’s 13 points made him the only other bloke in double figures. Once again, the shooting was subpar (42% FG, 28% 3PT) and the kiwis weren’t able to dominate enough in other areas to make up for that. Ah well, so it goes.
Stats & Reaction
Two players stood out above all others on this tour. One was the MVP Taylor Britt who managed to average 15 points and 4.5 assists per game anchoring the offence – numbers that could have been even higher had he not been playing through an ankle injury in the last two games. This was an opportunity for him to be a leader on the court and he took it confidently, offering great encouragement not only for his future Tall Blacks prospects but also for the Breakers in the upcoming Aussie NBL season.
The other star man was Mojave King. First time playing internationally having only recently committed his allegiance to Aotearoa and he was awesome. He scored at least 11 points in every game and led the Tall Blacks for total points and minutes played at this Asia Cup. When they needed scoring, he was always there. For a recent recruit, he brought heaps of passion and always kept at it despite getting battered in most of these games (MK shot the most free throws in the team). This dude even had blood trickling from his forehead at one stage during the Lebanon game...
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Mojave next because he’s a free agent after a disappointing Breakers season in NBL25 and that lot have already filled their roster so there’s no going back. At the time, they were right to let him walk. He had a -16 Net Rating for a losing team last season. It was a struggle. But the Breakers maybe would think differently if they were making that decision now, following the best basketball of King’s career for Tauranga and New Zealand. It feels like he’s turned a corner but his next step isn’t clear. He could surely get another NBL gig. Or he could try Europe or Asia. Or he might even want another crack at the G-League... the Houston Rockets currently have his contract rights after being bounced around a bit recently.
The Tall Blacks were the second-top scoring team at this tournament behind Australia. They scored at least 90 points in every game until behind held to just 73 against Iran in the last one. So there’s another example of how they burned out in that final game.
Jordan Ngatai shot 5/5 from three-point range in the win against Philippines. He shot 3/15 across the other five games, stats only partly saved by his 2/4 effort in the last game. Mojave King shot 40% from deep despite taking the most attempts – only two players in the whole tournament had better 3P% with that volume or more (one of which was Matin Aghajanpour of Iran who made four threes against NZ). Max Darling also knocked down 7/16 triples... but everyone else came through unders.
Rim rocking things...
The Tall Blacks have finished fourth (2017), third (2022), and fourth (2025) at Asia Cups since being admitted into the confederation. They have a 12-7 winning record overall. Tohi Smith-Milner is the only player who attended all three of those tournaments.
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