Australia won the ninth place in the Athens Olympic men's basketball tournament after beating New Zealand 98-80 in Athens on August 24.

The Australians made 16 three-pointers in 36 attempts to beat New Zealand to the 10th place.

Shane Heal, who was 9-for-14 from beyond the arch, led Australia with 30 points, Matthew Nielsen and CJ Bruton added 14 and 11 respectively.

The Australians pulled away with a 13-0 run for a 28-15 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.

Phillip Jones led New Zealand with 26 points.

Results of Athens Olympic basketball

Following are Tuesday's results of the Athens Olympic basketball tournament (half-time score in bracket):

Women's 9th-12th play-offs:

Nigeria beat South Korea 68-64 (29-32)

China bt Japan 82-63 (30-29)

Men's 9th-12th play-offs:

Australia bt New Zealand 98-80 (48-34)

Serbia and Montenegro bt Angola 85-62 (34-25)