Paolo Banchero knows all about the haka, the traditional dance that was performed by New Zealand’s players pregame on Saturday as the traditional rallying cry to show national pride and serve as a challenge to opponents.
He accepted that challenge.
Banchero scored 21 points off the bench in his first World Cup game, Anthony Edwards added 14 and the U.S. shook off a 10-point early deficit on the way to beating New Zealand 99-72 in the tournament opener for both teams.
