Petar Popovic (L) of Montenegro vies with Corey Webster of New Zealand during the group F match between Montenegro and New Zealand at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)
NANJING, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Pouring in six 3-pointers, New Zealand's sharpshooter Corey Webster led his team to overcome Montenegro 93-83 at the FIBA Basketball World Cup here on Tuesday.
Webster scored a match-high 25 points and had seven assists. His teammate Isaac Fotu also contributed 20 points and seven rebounds. Nikola Ivanovic posted 18 points for Montenegro.
Montenegro was routed on Sunday by one of the title favorites Greece led by NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. "We lost but it did not matter. The game with New Zealand is most important and we are optimistic," said Montenegro's head coach Zvezdan Mitrovic at the press conference after his team lost to Greece.
New Zealand got off the mark with strong start and kept attacking from beyond the 3-point line led by guard Corey Webster. The Kiwis shot 5 of 5, 100 percent 3-pointers to conclude the first quarter with a five-point lead.
Montenegro star Nikola Vucevic seemed not in his usual form with zero point seeing his team trail 53-44 at the half.
"Every game is important. But our second quarter tonight was a disaster," said Mitrovic, who was fouled out with two technical fouls before the half time.
Vucevic, the Orlando Magic center got his mojo working with rebounds and fast breaks to awaken his teammates, taking the first lead with 8:34 remaining in the second half.
Webster, however, continued putting up his show with more 3-pointers to turn up the heat and set the tone for the whole match.
"I want to congrats New Zealand on their win. Many of our guys were not feeling very well," Ivanovic said.
The win keeps aliver New Zealand's hope of reaching the last 16and they are scheduled to play in the last group match against Greece, who is going to meet challenge from Brazil later on Tuesday.
