With both New Zealand and Dominican Republic suffering losses during day one of the FIBA World Cup tournament, both teams were desperate for a win as another loss would make it very difficult to progress to the knockout stages. Unlike day one, there were no drama's surrounding New Zealand's Haka as the Dominican Republic graciously accepted the challenge.

Right from the tip off, the game was dominated by each team's stout defence, and there was a level of intensity that was not seen the numerous warm up games. Once again, New Zealand got off to a fast start, leading early as Thomas Abercrombie started the game with the hot hand. Although the Dominican Republic made a significan dent into the Tall Blacks' lead, the Kiwi's still managed to hold a 16-14 advantage after the first frame. 

The second quarter proved to be the deciding quarter as the Dominican Republic began to assert their dominance over the game. NBA veteren Francisco Garcia showed his class and began to heat up during the second quarter. The Tall Blacks' lack of size also began to show as the Dominican Republic established a significant advantage on the boards. As the half time buzzer sounded, the Dominican Republic held a 34-27 lead.

As the second half began, New Zealand started to work themselves back into the game. The third quarter was full of runs from both sides as the Dominican's lead stretched out to 11 at one point. It was the Kiwi's who ultimately had the final run of the third quarter and managed to work themselves to within one point thanks to back-to-back threes from Kirk Penney and Thomas Abercrombie. Closing out the quarter well allowed New Zealand to go into the fourth quarter with just a 51-50 deficit.

Once again, it was fourth quarter execution which led to the downfall of the Tall Blacks. The Dominican Republic completely dominated the fourth quarter and showed a masterclass in how to close out a game.

It was class and composure which got the Dominican Republic over the line, and it was largely due to a fired up Francisco Garcia, who added 9 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter. Jack Michael Martinez also provided great energy off the bench and was invaluable during the fourth quarter with a number of key rebounds and timely baskets. 

The Dominican Republic went on a final run with 3 minutes to go and established a comfortable lead that was never threatened. The Tall Blacks were once again unable to create easy baskets and ended up being outscored 25-13 in the fourth quarter. As the game came to a close, the Dominican Republic were deserevedly victorious by a margin of 76-63.

This win saw the first ever victory for the Dominican Republic at the FIBA World Championship in their first appearance at the event since 1978. As the tournament progresses, the Dominican Republic, on the back of this impressive showing, look to progress further and make some more noise in Group C. 

Dominican Republic will next play Finland on September 2nd at 3:30 pm Eastern Time.

After losing twice in a row, New Zealand will look for redemption against a tough USA team on Tuesday at 11:30 am Eastern Time.