NEW Zealand leaned on former Converge imports Ethan Rusbatch and Tom Vodanovich to beat Chinese Taipei, 86-69, in their away game in the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers.
Rusbatch had 26 points, while Vodanovich had 16 points to give the Tall Blacks an auspicious start to the qualifiers.
READ Gilas starts slow, finishes strong in 30-point win over HK
Rusbatch played for the FiberXers during the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup but was replaced after just one game by Jamaal Franklin, whose spot was later taken over by Vodanovich.
Vodanovich returned to play for Converge in the recently-concluded 2023-24 Commissioner’s Cup but was also replaced by Jamal Wilson.
Cheng Liu had 20 points but Chinese Taipei suffered a defeat before it travels to Manila to face Gilas Pilipinas on Sunday at the Philsports Arena.
The Philippines is coming off a 94-64 win over Hong Kong in its Fiba Asia qualifiers opener.
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