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Rotorua's Xanda Marsters celebrates historic World Cup achievement
Xanda Marsters played all seven games as the Junior Tall Blacks finished fourth at the 2025 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, New Zealand's best-ever result at this level.
Rotorua's Xanda Marsters was part of the Junior Tall Blacks team that finished fourth at the 2025 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Switzerland.
It's a proud moment for our community: one of our own, in a team that made New Zealand basketball history.
A history-making campaign
The Junior Tall Blacks reached the U19 World Cup quarter-finals for the first time, then went further into the semi-finals. Their fourth-place finish is New Zealand's best-ever result at the men's U19 tournament.
Read Basketball New Zealand's tournament report (opens in a new tab)
Xanda on the world stage
Xanda played in all seven games of the campaign. Representing your country against the best young players in the world is a huge milestone, and it deserves to be recognised alongside the team's success.
See Xanda's FIBA player record (opens in a new tab)
Something for our young players to aim for
For young players in Rotorua, seeing someone from home wear the New Zealand singlet shows where this game can take you.
Congratulations to Xanda and his Junior Tall Blacks teammates. Thanks as well to the whānau, coaches and supporters who help our young athletes chase opportunities like this.
Congratulations, Xanda. From Rotorua to the world stage.
