Vitor Benite (R) of Brazil competes during the group F match between Brazil and New Zealand at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Han Yuqing)
NANJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Former NBA champion Leandro Barbosa led Brazil to claim a nervy yet convincing 102-94 victory over New Zealand to open its group matches in the FIBA Basketball World Cup here on Sunday.
The former Golden State Warriors player maintained his mojo and posted a match-leading 22 points. Brazil's Cristiano Felicio, center of Chicago Bulls, protected the rim with 14 rebounds. New Zealand guard Corey Webster battled hard with 19 points.
Brazil guard Didi Louzada and NBA veteran Anderson Varejao showcased their aggressive attack to open the first quarter with three shots and a rim attack. But they soon were troubled by fouls which gave New Zealand the time to breathe with free throws to rally back.
The match turned tenser in the second quarter as the Kiwis started to pour in three-pointers to lead 28-25. But Barbosa showed that he still had gas with tough driving layups and jump shots to help his team in the game.
It was a 50-50 tie at the half, but the Brazilians became ruthless and opened the second half with plenty of three-pointers to put on a 16-2 burst to turn the match into a runaway. New Zealand could not keep pace and rally in the final minutes to hold off Brazil's harsh attack and ended up wilting to lose its first World Cup match.
"We did well in the first half but they set the leading in the third quarter and we couldn't answer," said New Zealand center Isaac Fotu, who scored 17 points and shot 60 percent.
"It's tough tonight but we need to bounce back for the next game," Fotu said.
New Zealand's head coach Paul Henare said he was proud of his young players battling in such way because many of them lacked World Cup experience.
Brazil head coach Petrovic said, for his part, that he knew New Zealand would be a difficult team to confront because they played in an unusual way.
"Alex Garcia was the guy who was making all the dirty things for us in the second half. He brought the fire to us," Petrovic said.
With a couple of current and former NBA players, Brazil is scheduled to play against one of the title favorites, Greece, led by NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on Tuesday.
