HOBART (Australia) - Davo Hickey struck the dagger to help Australia survive New Zealand, 84-79, for a winning start to their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, Friday evening at the MyStateBank Arena.
The 26-year-old knocked down the most important three of the night with 34 seconds left as it pushed their lead to two possessions at 82-78, and that spelled the beginning of the end for an upset-hungry Tall Blacks.
Big stops on the other end by Nick Kay, and splits from the line by Hickey and Jack White all inside the game's final 26.5 seconds proved to be the finishing touches that ultimately enabled the Boomers to escape.
Hickey finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists as his endgame heroics helped the defending three-time Asia Cup champions turn the game around in their favor after trailing by as many as nine at one point.
TURNING POINT
Sure, we could point to Hickey's three-pointer with 36 seconds left in the game as the dagger as it opened a one-point game in to a two-possesion ball game.
But don't forget the blocks by Keanu Pinder and Nick Kay in the fourth quarter. Stifling defense from the Boomers.
KEY PLAYER
Again, Hickey might have been the late-game hero, but the Boomers might not have been in that position to close the game out if not for Angus Glover. The "Red Rocket" scored 17 points on 4 three-pointers and ignited a sequence where he hit back-to-back three-pointers and drew an offensive charge.
Glover was on the squad the last time the Boomers lost to the Tall Blacks in 2020 in what was his debut and that might have sparked his inspiring play.
STATS DON’T LIE
New Zealand shot well over 50-percent at halftime, but ended the game shooting only 37.7 percent from the field. The Boomers went into the halftime break one team and came out another team defensively.
BOTTOM LINE
Australia are the three-time defending Asia Cup champions and they brought in a roster for these World Cup Qualifiers that retained that core, including TISSOT MVP Jaylin Galloway. They know how to win.
But New Zealand surely proved that they are going to be one of the top teams in these World Cup Qualifiers as well, if they continue to play this way.
THEY SAID
"We knew it was gonna be a battle. They loaded up with a lot of bigs on their squad. We thought there were gonna be some advantages from the perimeter and we needed to shoot the basketball pretty well. We looked at it and said, 'Hey, we have to be a lot better in that area.' But the physicality, I thought, was so much better in the second half, the way that we turned it up in the second half - we found some simple actions and moved the basketball well to create more opportunities." - Dean Vickerman, Head Coach, Australia
"Yea. My debut didn't go as planned. We lost. I still remember it. We lost. And... yeah. Just before the world came crashing down with COVID, so that's a long time ago now. But to have my debut against the Kiwis was a pretty cool experience, to understand the rivalry between the two teams and to get that first experience out of the way, it's every kid's dream. Every time I play the Kiwis, where it's been in the Trans-Tasman or tonight, I have a bit more extra motivation - I don't wanna really lose to them ever again after the first time. But yeah, it's an honor to play in these games each and every time." - Angus Glover, Guard, Australia
"I think we all anticipated that it was going to be a physical game. I'm proud of our team for I guess particularly earlier in this game when we wanted to really impose ourselves. We won the rebounding count which is a huge part of the way we want to play. The Boomers were very physical pushing us out of our stuff, but we dealt with that. We had a little lead, they came back, they took the lead, we came back, and secured it again. So, you know, back-and-forth. And Davo Hickey makes a big shot." - Judd Flavell, Head Coach, New Zealand
"The turnovers kinda hurt us in a way ... but I thought there were definitely positives for us like rebounding. It kinda gave us a chance to win, but obviously there were little hiccups throughout the game that Australia made us punished. I think we have to go back to the drawing board, look at the film, and make some adjustments." - Izayah Le'Afa, Guard, New Zealand
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