New Zealand Stuns Puerto Rico to Advance to Semifinals
September 06, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Continuing its stunning run in the 2002 World Basketball Championships, New Zealand defeated Puerto Rico 65-63 Thursday night at the RCA Dome to advance to the semifinals. The Kiwis will face defending world champion Yugoslavia on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Conseco Fieldhouse. The game will be televised live by NBC.
'This leaves you speechless and overwhelmed. We're in the top four in the world,' said UW senior Kirk Penney, a member of the New Zealand team. 'It's incredible what this means to the country and basketball in New Zealand. It's going to take a while to sink in.'
New Zealand led for most of the game but Puerto Rico took a 58-57 lead with 3:05 left after a free throw by Jose Ortiz. Kiwi captain Pero Cameron hit a three-pointer to put New Zealand back on top, then, after Purto Rico tied the score, hit another three at the 1:09 mark. Puerto Rico's Elias Ayuso hit his seventh trey of the game to tie it again, setting up some more heroics by Cameron. His lay-up with 23.4 second left gave New Zealand its winning margin.
Phil Jones led the Kiwis with 21 points while Cameron chipped in with 16. Penney, who entered the game as New Zealand's leading scorer, was held to seven points on 2-6 shooting. Penney also added three rebounds, two steals and an assist in 33 minutes of play. With the victory, New Zealand earned an automatic berth to the 2004 Summer Olympics.
New Zealand and Yugoslavia met on Aug. 16 in the first round of the Super Cup in Germany with the Kiwis coming out on top 81-79. That was the first in a string of 'biggest wins in the history of New Zealand basketball,' a trend that continued Thursday night. Yugoslavia defeated Team USA Thursday night to end the U.S. ' medal hopes and advance to the semis.
