N.Z.’s basketball hopes hit by Netherlands

Press, 8 July 1986, Page 24

N.Z.’s basketball hopes hit by Netherlands

NZPA special correspondent

Tenerife, Canary Islands

The New Zealand men’s basketball team’s top-12 hopes were dented when it lost a foulridden encounter, 66-84, to the Netherlands in the world championships at Tenerife. For New Zealand to progress to post-section play a win was vital against the Dutch, who lost their opening game to Argentina. The Kiwis gave the Netherlands a stem test, only folding in the closing quarter, when theirlack of true international matchplay and frequent fouls told.

New Zealand led, 47-44, entering the final 10 minutes, but the Dutch were composed under pressure while New Zealand lost five players with the maximum five fouls.

The captain, Stan Hill (Auckland), John Rademakers (Canterbury), Gilbert Gordon (Wellington), Frank Mulvihill (Wellington) and the Americanbased Neil Stephens — the entire starting five — all departed in the final five minutes.

Mulvihill was promoted to the top line-up in the absence of Tony Smith (Hamilton), who is a mormon and does not play on Sundays.

Smith would have added extra scoring thrust to the Kiwi guardline.

The New Zealand coach, Bob Bishop, felt the team was harshly treated by the referees but his team has hit heavy foul trouble in almost every game of its threenation tour.

By the game’s end New Zealand had committed a staggering 37 fouls and yet again had the sevenfoul flag flying well before the midway point in each half.

However, it was the Netherlands which first reached the seven-foul mark in the second spell. That proved the Kiwis’ downfall. ' . The Netherlands switched from man-to-man marking to zone defence and the Kiwis had trouble shooting over the lanky Dutchmen. Slowly the Netherlands eased away and New Zealand’s upset victory hopes — it is the bottom seed — receded. ( i The 18-polnt margin was not a reflection of the spirit New Zealand showed, for it competed vigorously only to tire in the closing stages as it did against Yugoslavia.

New Zealand’ was battling tall odds with the Dutch squad averaging 202 cm, compared with New Zealand’s 195 cm.

The side was headed by the 221 cm centre, Rik Smits, one of several players attending American colleges. Most of the other players are semiprofessionals.

Smits had less effect on the game than expected but his tall compatriots continually contested offensive rebounds.

New Zealand struggled for its own rebound ball, especially in the first half. It was five minutes before Hill collected the first defensive ball. The Netherlands had grabbed six offensive ones.

Hill, playing with a badly swollen little finger on his left hand heavily taped, was New Zealand’s leading offensive performer. He had the moves and touch to outmanoeuvre the opposition and scored 18 points. He was the only New Zealander to post double figures. Glen Denham (Hamilton) and Gordon gave sterling service in the forward line while Peter Po-

kai (Waitemata) flawed another promising performance with some three-second violations.

In the guardline New Zealand’s three-point specialist, Rademakers, could not find a rhythm, missing with five attempts before sinking one. The utility player, Dave Edmonds (New Plymouth), added spark to the guardline, contributing nine points.

The match became a drab spectacle in the latter stages with the Dutch players making a regular trek to the free-throw line. They went to the charity line 27 times overall compared with New Zealand’s 10. But it was not all oneway traffic. In the first half, New Zealand traded basket for basket and had several periods in front. Mr Bishop believed New Zealand had the winning of the game at the three-quarter mark but felt the fourth foul called on Hill was a turning point. The Netherlands’ top I player was the 206 cm forward, Hans Heljdeman, who handled like a guard, netting 29 points. Malaysia took another pounding in the only other match, losing 01-131 to Yugoslavia. Results:

Netherlands 84 (H. Heijdeman 29, R. Smits 10, R. Bottse 10) New Zealand 66 (S. Hill 18, G. Denham 9, D. Edmonds 9, G. Gordon 8, P. Pokai 7, N. Stephens 6, F. Mulvhihill 4, J. Rademakers 3, I. Webb 2).

Yugoslavia 131, Malaysia 61.

Group A: Spain beat South Korea, 120-73 (half-time SO--42); Greece beat France, 8784 (53-39). Group B: Israel beat Angola, 95-75 (37-32); Soviet Union beat Cuba, 129-87 (SO--53).

Group C: West Germany beat Ivory Coast, 88-70 (4738); United States beat China, 107-81 (57-39).