Hickey with walk off winner for Boomers

Despite the thunderous heroics for the Tall Blacks from Sam Mennenga, Davo Hickey has made himself the hero for the Australian Boomers for the second time in four days, this time with a walk off winning three ball in Wellington.

It was the second game between them for this first FIBA window for the 2027 World Cup Qualifiers after the Boomers scored the hard fought 84-79 win in Hobart back on Friday night.

In that game, it was a late three-pointer from Hickey that was the dagger blow in the win for the Boomers and the Illawarra Hawks championship star was able to repeat the dose on Monday at Wellington's TSB Bank Arena for the 79-77 win.

It was a physical battle right from the outset to close the opening window for the World Cup qualifiers for the 2027 event to be held in Qatar with Australia ending up leading narrowly 23-21 by the end of the first quarter.

The Boomers maintained that two-point advantage to be leading 39-37 going into half-time with Keanu Pinder starring with 13 points and three rebounds with neither team shooting well from downtown combining for 7/29 nor did they get to the line much with only a combined seven free throws.

Sam Mennenga then took over the game spectacularly for the Tall Blacks in the third quarter to continue the career-best form he's been in this NBL season with the Breakers.

That included a monstrous one-handed slam where he got Pinder up for the up fake to drive right around him before clocking the ball in his left hand and throwing it down right over the top of former Melbourne United forward Jack White.

Mennenga scored 10 points on his own in the third quarter helping the Tall Blacks to lead by that much, and to still be on top 62-57 by three quarter-time.

New Zealand were then still leading by three thanks to a bucket to Cairns Taipans wing Mojave King with just under a minute to play before Pinder scored again to bring the Boomers back within a point to set up the grandstand finish.

With the time running out, Hickey was isolated up top with New Zealand centre Yanni Wetzell, and ended up getting off his three-point attempt just before time expired and banked it in for the walk off game winner.

It gave the Boomers the two-point win and he might not have called glass, but it mattered little with the Australian players celebrating wildly in front of the stunned Wellington crowd.

It gives the Boomers the perfect start to the World Cup Asian Qualifiers having come from 10 points down to finish with 18 points from New Zealand's 22 turnovers to overcome the Tall Blacks having 24 second chance points from 22 offensive rebounds.

On top of that stunning game winner, Hickey finished with 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Australia despite the eight turnovers and he was shooting 2/11 before his game clincher.

Pinder top-scored for Australia with 21 points with six rebounds while Nick Kay added 20 points, nine rebounds and four steals, and Jaylin Galloway 13 points on 3/5 three-point shooting.

Mennenga finished with 16 points and six rebounds for the Tall Blacks with King adding 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, Flynn Cameron nine points, three boards and two assists, Wetzell eight points and eight rebounds, and Finn Delany eight points and five boards.

The NBL season will now resume on Wednesday also in New Zealand with the Breakers playing host to the Sydney Kings in an Ignite Cup match up at Hamilton's Claudelands Arena.

FIBA WORLD CUP ASIA QUALIFIERS – FIRST ROUND GROUP A

NEW ZEALAND TALL BLACKS 77 (Mennenga 16, King 13, Cameron 9)

AUSTRALIAN BOOMERS 79 (Pinder 21, Kay 20, Hickey 12)

BOX SCORE