Tall Blacks finally taste sweet victory

(BEIJING, July 4) -- After three consecutive defeats, New Zealand finally secured an 84-71 victory over Lebanon on Wednesday night at the Jack Donohue International Classic in Canada.

The game was part of a warm-up friendly series for this month's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens, where New Zealand will play in Group B against Germany and Cape Verde.

Craig Bradshaw weighed in with 18 points while Kirk Penney grabbed 17 points for the Tall Blacks.

For Lebanon, Rony Fahed dished out a game high 20, with Fadi El Khatib scoring 16 points.

According to FIBA reports, Nenad Vucinic, the coach of the Tall Blacks, expressed relief over the hard-earned victory after falling to Australia and Canada in three previous games.

"Nothing beats a win," Vucinic said, "after the first three games, when really we didn't play well.

"Lebanon is an experienced team, (with) plenty of international experience. I was worried about the game but after a slow start we really picked it up and played a really solid basketball game.

"It was a crucial game for us in terms of morale and confidence. After another slow start we were in danger of falling away again and I really challenged the guys."

The victory is surely significant to New Zealand as they will compete for three Olympic places in the Olympic qualifying tournament.