An impressive showing by the Junior Tall Blacks has come up short this morning, falling 80-69 to France at the Under 19 Basketball World Cup. It was a case of a much better performance, but a worse result for the Junior Tall Blacks, who were much improved from an inconsistent 88-81 victory over South Korea the day before. AdvertisementThat won't be the only missed opportunity the Tall Blacks rue. The Junior Tall Blacks responded to their blows with counter-punches of their own, but they couldn't hang down the stretch, as the French resistance took out the final quarter 23-16 to seal a hard-fought win. Next up for the Junior Tall Blacks on Wednesday morning are Argentina, who were defeated 63-52 by France, but smacked South Korea overnight, 100-76.

Source: New Zealand Herald July 02, 2017 15:56 UTC