China wins again. Ming with 19
http://www.bbnz.org.nz/news.html?oid=2036348901
At 1.98m and 120kg,you wouldn't usually consider the New Zealand captain "little", but in such lofty company, he could not fairly be described as a giant either. He gives up a foot (30cm) in height to Yao and in Mengke, faces an opponent at least as strong.
None of that mattered as he battled, at various times, both Chinese stars to a standstill in a very physical encounter that produced a total of 66 fouls.
After watching his side lose to the home team by 15 the previous night, Tall Black coach Tab Baldwin decided to switch assignments on defence, assigning Cameron to battle Mengke and Yao for prime position under the basket. Yao, especially, had waltzed the taller Kiwis Ed Book and Robert Hickey around the keyhole almost at will 24 hours earlier, and Baldwin was determined he should not have his way so easily again.
Cameron had had a quiet game by his standards in the first test, scoring only three points from 1/11 field-goal shooting. But this time he rose to the task of banging heads, hips, elbows and other sundry body parts with such elite company.
With his captain matching up against the Chinese centres, Baldwin also resolved to use a small lineup far more in an effort to beat the home team up the floor and wear them down. With this philosophy, the Tall Blacks seized the first significant break of the game at 17-12 in the first quarter and trailed by just two (25-27) at the end of the period.
Curiously, Yao was subbed out of the game early and would not re-enter until he and Bateer appeared oncourt together for the first time in the series just before halftime.
But the visitors' game plan fell to pieces in the second quarter as they allowed the Chinese to compile 17 unanswered points, spearheaded by a pair of consecutive three pointers from Li Nan.
"That second quarter was all about lack of discipline," a disgusted Baldwin would tell his team later.
Behind 45-60 at the break, the Tall Blacks fell 20 behind against more pinpoint accuracy from beyond the arc and conversion of free-throw chances. But Cameron, who had just two points from a couple of free throws in the first half, compiled 15 in the third period and with longtime ally Judd Flavell, triggered a 14-4 run that had his team back in the hunt at 72-84 with a quarter to play.
A key to the Kiwis' better showing was their better shooting from the line. In the first test, they had succeeded with just 13/28 FT (46%); this time, they went 23/29 (78%).
Unfortunately, their physical approach to this match gave the Chinese 50 free throws, of which they converted 38 (76%). In the fourth quarter, as Book fouled out, the Asian champions went 16/21 from the charity stripe to seal the game.
Three-pointers from Cameron (two), Terrence Lewis (two), Flavell and Paul Henare allowed the Tall Blacks to close within seven points near the end, but it was too little too late.
Lewis finished with 18 points, including four three pointers, while Nan led the Chinese with 22 points.
When selecting the team to tour China, Baldwin had picked a roster he described as "combative" and they had certainly proved that. He was unwilling to accept any defeat as honourable, though.
"Whatever we did better tonight wasn't good enough," he told his troops. "That's the bottom line. We must play much better.
"But we showed that we learned and if we can learn that much in one day, we can learn more in the next two."
The Burger King Tall Blacks face China in the third and final test on Monday (June 3) at Qinhuangdao.
China 111 (Li Nan 22, Yao Ming 19, Mengke Bateer 15, Cheng Ke 13, Liu Wei 11)
Burger King Tall Blacks 101 (Pero Cameron 25, Terrence Lewis 18, Mark Dickel 10, Judd Flavell 10)
Halftime: 60-45
