China concluded its preparation for the next stage of the FIBA 2027 World Cup Asian qualifiers by losing to New Zealand with a score of 84:77. The match took place in Shunde, Guangdong province, southern China, on Monday.
The hosts struggled in the battle for rebounds against the Tall Blacks team, which won this battle with a score of 47:32, including 18 offensive rebounds. China's coach, Guo Shicai, pointed to the difference in rebounds as one of the decisive factors in the loss.
The top scorer among the home team's players was Liao Sanning with 17 points, while Jiao Bociao contributed 14 points, and Hu Qingqiu added 13 points. New Zealand was led by experienced defender Corey Webster, who scored 17 points, and James Moore had a double game, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
The visiting New Zealand team came out with an inexperienced squad of 11 players, as they are also preparing for the second round of the World Cup qualifiers. Jordan Ngatai was the only player in the group who played during the first three qualification windows.
Ngatai noted that the squad was finalized only five days before the game, and the players had only trained together four or five times. He highly praised the performance of the young players and suggested that three members of the group might secure spots in the New Zealand squad for the upcoming qualifiers.
China found it difficult to slow down 37-year-old Webster, who possesses extensive international experience and was the top scorer for New Zealand in both the 2014 and 2019 FIBA World Cups. Hu explained that the intensity maintained by New Zealand throughout the game allowed China to gain valuable experience before returning to competitive play.
The loss on Monday brought China's record to 1-2 in three friendly matches. Previously, the Guo team opened the series with an 83:78 victory over Uruguay, followed by a loss in the second match against the South American team with a score of 91:72.
China will now focus on the second round of the Asian qualifiers and will enter Group F with a 3-3 record. The team will visit Qatar on August 27 and host Levant on August 31.
The results from the first round are being carried over to the second stage, where China will be grouped with Levant, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. Each team will play six more qualifying matches over three windows in the race for spots in the FIBA 2027 World Cup.