Basketball men end day on a high

The New Zealand men's 3x3 basketballers ended their day with a solid win over Nigeria to keep themselves in medal contention.

After their disappopinting first-up loss to Australia, the basketballers - Aidan Tonge, Josh Book, Te Tuhi Lewis and Christian Martin - came back strongly, pummelling Guyana and ending the day with a hard-fought 21-10 win over Nigeria.

The Nigerians had pushed Australia hard so they were expected to test the New Zealanders. While the scoreboard indicates a clear-cut win to New Zealand, it was a torrid, feisty match with far more physical contact than normal.

New Zealand's shooting, so deadly against Guyana, was curiously off target. They managed only three of their nine two-point attempts, but had enough possession to stay on top of the game.

New Zealand led 4-0, 10-4 and 16-6, so they were always sure of winning.

Tonge said the game was more physical than they were used to. 'But there was a lot on the line for both teams, it was sort of do or die. We won, so now we just need to string together a couple of good wins in our next games.'

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New Zealand Olympic Team