The Tall Blacks have upset host nation Lebanon 86-82 to go top of their group at the Asia Cup in Beirut.
The New Zealand side, comprised primarily of development players, withstood a late charge by the Lebanese in front of a raucous partisan crowd to clinch a memorable victory and remain unbeaten at the tournament.
Point guard prodigy Shea Ili lead the way for the Kiwis with 22 points to go with three rebounds and four assists, while captain Reuben Te Rangi notched 15 points and eight rebounds along with some critical plays down the stretch to seal the contest.
There was some clear improvement from the Kiwis since their scratchy win over Kazakhstan in their opening game of the tournament, the offensive ball movement crisp and the defensive presence much more stoic, despite some lapses in the waning minutes.
The visitors matched the Lebanese in the physicality stakes, with 20-year-old center Sam Timmins making his presence fet underneath the rim at both ends, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds.
After a sluggish start the Tall Blacks overcame an early deficit to edge ahead 42-40 at halftime, before taking a lead early in the third quarter which they never relinquished.
Coach Paul Henare praised his side's composure in what was a cauldron-like environment in front of thousands of rabid locals.
"To compete well and be calm under that sort of pressure is amazing - we had only 10 turnovers in the game, the best we've had the whole tour," said Henare.
"The boys learn to communicate without noise on the training court. There is a reason we do that and it is a night like tonight, so you can communicate in such an extreme atmosphere, and I thought they did a great job."
They'll now move on to face South Korea in their final pool match on Sunday, who earlier dropped their game against Lebanon before responding with a comprehensive win over the Kazakhs.
The winner of that game will advance to the quarter-final round, while the loser will still have an opportunity to claim a spot in the knock-out stages via a preliminary playoff game.
Newshub.
