But it shows the increasing depth of New Zealand basketball.
This was a young and internationally inexperienced Tall Blacks team that finished third at the Asia Cup.
The placing was confirmed on Sunday night, as Tohi Smith-Milner had 25 points and Otago Nuggets centre Sam Timmins added 12, as they beat Jordan 83-75 in Jakarta.
Many star Tall Blacks were not there — think Isaac Fotu, the Webster brothers, Yanni Wetzell and Finn Delany.
Many who would fill out a second-string team were also missing.
That is where the depth comes in, depth that perhaps has not been there in the past.
Timmins completed a solid tournament, his second Asia Cup, and should contend for a spot in a full-strength squad come next year’s World Cup.
There were plenty of others to put their hands up.
Smith-Milner continued his resurgence, having last year found his way back into the Australian NBL, and was a dominant figure throughout.
He was the veteran on this team, at just 26 years old.
The young contingent showed its ability at the senior level too.
Auckland Tuatara forward Taki Fahrensohn, who has been arguably the NBL’s most improved player this year, was superb from start to finish.
He has taken his game to a new level this year, his length and athleticism making him dangerous in transition and attacking the hoop.
Flynn Cameron, son of head coach and Tall Blacks great Pero Cameron, was another to impress.
The 1.90m guard, who has one more year left at the University of California Riverside, has the athleticism and body to excel at the next level.
He showed his all-round capability, at times taking over games with his ability to score, facilitate and defend.
Crucially, both are players in a mould New Zealand has not produced a lot of over the years.
There are others in more traditional roles — Taine Murray is one of the better shooters this country has seen in a long time, while Sam Mennenga combines his size with the ability to step out and shoot.
And the key thing is this team competed with Asia’s best — albeit champion Australia having sent a similar-level development team.
It bodes well for the future, and offers more options and competition for spots in a full-strength team for a World Cup or Olympic qualifier.
That is a by-product of the increased popularity of basketball over the past decade and more players reaching higher levels.
Of the 12 players in this squad, nine have played in either division one college or a professional league outside of the New Zealand NBL this year, while two of the others have previously been development players in Australia.
More New Zealanders are getting themselves into strong leagues.
They get exposed to a higher level of basketball, get better, come back and everyone else gets better with it.
When they come up against the top international teams, it is no longer such a step up.
There is still a way to go to compete with the world’s top teams, such as the United States, France and Australia, but they are moving in the right direction.
■ Australia held off a late comeback to beat Lebanon 75-73 to win the gold medal.
Thon Maker top-scored for the Boomers with 14 points, while Mitch McCarron had 12 and University of Duke signing Tyrese Proctor added 10.
Wael Arakji and Ali Haidar did their best to keep Lebanon in the game with 28 and 23 points respectively.
