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Tall Blacks wins the series against Korea 3-2. Tonight's game featured a close win, 71-70. Goodluck to the Tall Blacks when they travel to China and Europe!
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New Zealand Tall Blacks squad for FIBA World Cup 2014
Lindsay Tait
Tai Webster
Jarrod Kenny
Kirk Penney
Corey Webster
Tom Abercrombie
Everard Bartlett
Mika Vukona
BJ Anthony
Isaac Fotu
Casey Frank
Rob Loe
Vucinic selected Frank over Horvath. Let's hope that Abercrombie recovers this week from his abdominal injury.
Lindsay Tait
Tai Webster
Jarrod Kenny
Kirk Penney
Corey Webster
Tom Abercrombie
Everard Bartlett
Mika Vukona
BJ Anthony
Isaac Fotu
Casey Frank
Rob Loe
Vucinic selected Frank over Horvath. Let's hope that Abercrombie recovers this week from his abdominal injury.
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sambaras2
Guest
Can any friend help me to learn the final roster with the projected minutes,please?
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Basketcase2
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Tall Blacks loses second game
September 1, 2014
The Tall Blacks have suffered their second consecutive defeat at the FIBA World Cup, beaten by the Dominican Republic 76-63.
The Kiwis struggled to find the offensive rhythm that saw them lead Turkey for much of the game just 18 hours earlier at the Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao and were never in the hunt.
The New Zealanders couldn’t contain Dominican NBA star Francisco Garcia who scored a game-high 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting and five-of-seven from beyond the arc.
Tom Abercrombie responded for the Tall Blacks and led the scoring effort with 22 points and four rebounds, while Kirk Penney added 16 points and Mika Vukona 11 in an offensive effort that fell away beyond those three.
Assistant Coach Paul Henare did not see this performance coming.
“We had an opportunity to beat the Turks and we let it slip, equally we had a chance here but this was our worst performance of the tour and sadly sometimes that is sport, we did not plan to come out like this, we need to deal with it quickly and move on.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well enough, had some decent looks but as a team we didn’t move the ball at a good enough clip to be competitive at the other end we allowed Garcia to get going, he went 5/7 from the three point line and when you look at a game like that and you say that is why he plays in the NBA, he made some tough plays and we weren’t able to do a good enough job on anyone else.
“I can’t speak for what is in the players’ minds, but preparation was business as usual, we did what we could in the meeting about going over the previous game, looking forward to today’s game and preparing as best we could and for whatever reason it wasn’t there for us, that is sport, it was an unfortunate time to have a performance like that.
“Most definitely we are still a chance, Ukraine lost to Finland tonight so there are four teams on one win (excluding USA and Turkey still to play), we are going to rely on results going our way but we have to look to get 2/3 and target Ukraine and Finland, but in terms of formulas we can do it, we have to win those two games though. Both those games are winnable, of course. We are able to compete with some of the best teams in the world as we have done on this tour, they will be tough games though, Ukraine have tremendous size and talent and a great point guard, Finland is talented too. We watched Finland v Ukraine – feels like you are in Finland, 8000 fans here going crazy creating awesome atmosphere, the task is tough but one we are ready to face it head on.”
Henare says his team has no choice now but to play like their backs are against the wall.
“We were never anything but underdogs and that hasn’t changed, whenever our backs are against the wall we play best, hopefully history repeats in our final games and we come out and play well. In section play you get a couple of lives, we have used them up and we have to be at our best to try and get out of section play.”
The Tall Blacks did go on a third quarter run to close the gap to just one point heading into the final quarter, but the Dominican side ran away with it to record their first win after a first up loss to the Ukraine.
New Zealand must now defeat Ukraine and Finland and look for the upset of the tournament against the Americans in their remaining pool games to have any chance of qualifying from the group.
Dominican Republic 76 (Francisco Garcia 29, Jake Martinez 12)
Tall Blacks 63 (Tom Abercrombie 22, Kirk Penney 16, Mika Vukona 11).
1Q: 14-16, HT: 34-27, 3Q: 51-50
BOX SCORE
September 1, 2014
The Tall Blacks have suffered their second consecutive defeat at the FIBA World Cup, beaten by the Dominican Republic 76-63.
The Kiwis struggled to find the offensive rhythm that saw them lead Turkey for much of the game just 18 hours earlier at the Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao and were never in the hunt.
The New Zealanders couldn’t contain Dominican NBA star Francisco Garcia who scored a game-high 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting and five-of-seven from beyond the arc.
Tom Abercrombie responded for the Tall Blacks and led the scoring effort with 22 points and four rebounds, while Kirk Penney added 16 points and Mika Vukona 11 in an offensive effort that fell away beyond those three.
Assistant Coach Paul Henare did not see this performance coming.
“We had an opportunity to beat the Turks and we let it slip, equally we had a chance here but this was our worst performance of the tour and sadly sometimes that is sport, we did not plan to come out like this, we need to deal with it quickly and move on.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well enough, had some decent looks but as a team we didn’t move the ball at a good enough clip to be competitive at the other end we allowed Garcia to get going, he went 5/7 from the three point line and when you look at a game like that and you say that is why he plays in the NBA, he made some tough plays and we weren’t able to do a good enough job on anyone else.
“I can’t speak for what is in the players’ minds, but preparation was business as usual, we did what we could in the meeting about going over the previous game, looking forward to today’s game and preparing as best we could and for whatever reason it wasn’t there for us, that is sport, it was an unfortunate time to have a performance like that.
“Most definitely we are still a chance, Ukraine lost to Finland tonight so there are four teams on one win (excluding USA and Turkey still to play), we are going to rely on results going our way but we have to look to get 2/3 and target Ukraine and Finland, but in terms of formulas we can do it, we have to win those two games though. Both those games are winnable, of course. We are able to compete with some of the best teams in the world as we have done on this tour, they will be tough games though, Ukraine have tremendous size and talent and a great point guard, Finland is talented too. We watched Finland v Ukraine – feels like you are in Finland, 8000 fans here going crazy creating awesome atmosphere, the task is tough but one we are ready to face it head on.”
Henare says his team has no choice now but to play like their backs are against the wall.
“We were never anything but underdogs and that hasn’t changed, whenever our backs are against the wall we play best, hopefully history repeats in our final games and we come out and play well. In section play you get a couple of lives, we have used them up and we have to be at our best to try and get out of section play.”
The Tall Blacks did go on a third quarter run to close the gap to just one point heading into the final quarter, but the Dominican side ran away with it to record their first win after a first up loss to the Ukraine.
New Zealand must now defeat Ukraine and Finland and look for the upset of the tournament against the Americans in their remaining pool games to have any chance of qualifying from the group.
Dominican Republic 76 (Francisco Garcia 29, Jake Martinez 12)
Tall Blacks 63 (Tom Abercrombie 22, Kirk Penney 16, Mika Vukona 11).
1Q: 14-16, HT: 34-27, 3Q: 51-50
BOX SCORE
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Basketcase2
Guest
Still Alive
The Tall Blacks World Cup remains alive after a strong 73-61 win over Ukraine this morning NZT, ensuring they go to their final pool game against Finland with a chance of progressing to the knock out stages of the tournament.
This was the performance that was hinted at in the loss to Turkey and in an improved showing against the United States but unlike the Turkey clash, the New Zealanders took this one to the final buzzer in keeping the Europeans at bay.
There were contributions from across the roster, with bench players Everard Bartlett firing some critical threes in his 14 points and Isaac Fotu in perhaps his best showing as a Tall Black with a double/double of ten points and ten boards.
Kirk Penney led all scorers with 17 and Corey Webster chimed in during the second half with a critical 11 points while on the boards the Tall Blacks were supreme over their much bigger opponents 48-25 – in truth they smashed Ukraine in what is always a key effort area.
Kirk Penney spoke of the determination in the group to come out and play well.
“The coaches challenged us last night, we had a meeting last night at the hotel they challenged us to play much better, execute much better and the guys came out and responded which is a great credit against a team like Ukraine. We feel like our tournament is still alive depending on other results, our sole focus now is to win against Finland.”
Head Coach Nenad Vucinic was pleased with the way his players fought back after a tough start to the tournament.
“It was great to get our first win at the World Championship, we had our backs to the wall and the players responded well. Unfortunately we still have our backs to the wall as we have to win against Finland in our last game, that will be a tough proposition, like a home game for them with the crowd but I believe it is up to us and the way we play to decide if we can win the game.”
New Zealand 73 (Kirk Penney 17, Everard Bartlett 14, Corey Webster 11, Isaac Fotu 10)
Ukraine 61 (Maxym Kornienko 15, Pooh Jeter 14, Ihor Zaytsev 10).1Q: 18-19; HT: 36-30; 3Q: 53-45.
BOX SCORE HERE
The Tall Blacks World Cup remains alive after a strong 73-61 win over Ukraine this morning NZT, ensuring they go to their final pool game against Finland with a chance of progressing to the knock out stages of the tournament.
This was the performance that was hinted at in the loss to Turkey and in an improved showing against the United States but unlike the Turkey clash, the New Zealanders took this one to the final buzzer in keeping the Europeans at bay.
There were contributions from across the roster, with bench players Everard Bartlett firing some critical threes in his 14 points and Isaac Fotu in perhaps his best showing as a Tall Black with a double/double of ten points and ten boards.
Kirk Penney led all scorers with 17 and Corey Webster chimed in during the second half with a critical 11 points while on the boards the Tall Blacks were supreme over their much bigger opponents 48-25 – in truth they smashed Ukraine in what is always a key effort area.
Kirk Penney spoke of the determination in the group to come out and play well.
“The coaches challenged us last night, we had a meeting last night at the hotel they challenged us to play much better, execute much better and the guys came out and responded which is a great credit against a team like Ukraine. We feel like our tournament is still alive depending on other results, our sole focus now is to win against Finland.”
Head Coach Nenad Vucinic was pleased with the way his players fought back after a tough start to the tournament.
“It was great to get our first win at the World Championship, we had our backs to the wall and the players responded well. Unfortunately we still have our backs to the wall as we have to win against Finland in our last game, that will be a tough proposition, like a home game for them with the crowd but I believe it is up to us and the way we play to decide if we can win the game.”
New Zealand 73 (Kirk Penney 17, Everard Bartlett 14, Corey Webster 11, Isaac Fotu 10)
Ukraine 61 (Maxym Kornienko 15, Pooh Jeter 14, Ihor Zaytsev 10).1Q: 18-19; HT: 36-30; 3Q: 53-45.
BOX SCORE HERE
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Basketcase2
Guest
Tall Blacks Advance
September 5, 2014
The Tall Blacks won a thriller in Bilbao to give themselves a shot at progressing to the knock out stage of the FIBA World Cup, defeating Finland 67-65 in a game of hugely contrasting fortunes. At the time of writing the New Zealanders are now just awaiting other results in Pool C, with the United States needing to defeat Ukraine to ensure the Tall Blacks safe passage to Barcelona.
It was a game of swings as first the New Zealanders came out and took charge early in the game to establish a lead of 20 points early in the third quarter as the Fins had no answer to the Tall Blacks energy and all round contribution from a fiercely determined roster fighting for their lives. The second half however was to prove a wildly contrasting affair, with the Laplanders dominating without ever retaking the lead in a frenetic final few minutes.
Isaac Fotu was the spark that fired up the first half bench led effort from the Tall Blacks, with his 14 points and 6 boards leading an incredible 35 point contribution from the Tall Blacks second unit. With Mika Vukona in early foul trouble with two soft calls against the Tall Blacks defensive leader, Fotu was called from the bench and answered as only he knows how, crashing the boards and finding his range from inside and with a number of soft hand finishes.
The Finnish defence was shutting down New Zealand’s go to outside shooter in Kirk Penney, but the Tall Blacks kept the ball moving and looked to other options, with Everard Bartlett, the Webster brothers and Lindsay Tait all taking responsibility in a balanced first half effort.
The Fins at times proved too much for New Zealand’s defence in the low post, with Lee winning most of his physical confrontations, but they were otherwise forced into less than ideal looks at the basket by the Tall Blacks smothering defence.
Rebounding again proved to be a good barometer of the game’s fortunes, with New Zealand dominating the first half boards to the tune of 17-9, in the process scoring 12 second chance points to frustrate Finland and halt any hint of a run, in the process keeping the large Finnish crowd quiet.
The Tall Blacks threatened to take the game away from Finland early in the third, opening up a lead as big as 20 points on the back of five early points from the up until then quiet Kirk Penney. But the Fins came back strongly at the end of the quarter, closing back to a 12 point deficit heading into the final quarter, knowing it was to be a final ten minutes for one of these two teams in the tournament.
That momentum stayed with the Finland team early in the final quarter, on the back of two Lee layups and some offensive misfiring from the Tall Blacks, the lead was down to eight points and the noise in the arena went up behind the Europeans. The energy stayed with the Finnish side from that point as they finally found some focus on defence against a now tiring New Zealand offence.
The final few minutes had more than its share of big moments, from Kirk Penney’s clutch three to missed layups, a huge charge call against Finland (Vukona putting his body on the line), and an unsportsmanlike foul called on Jarrod Kenny that handed the Fins the chance to take the lead on the next possession. They couldn’t however breach that mental and scoreboard barrier, despite having the last possession of the game and a contested look to take the game into overtime, the ball came up short and the Tall Blacks came up big when it counted most.
Isaac Fotu led all scorers in a coming of age performance for the 20 year old, with 18 points and 8 rebounds while Mika Vukona was a constant warrior in the face of the Finnish team, playing (as always) like his life depended on it for 12 rebounds, 5 points and 3 assists. This was again though a trademark deep effort from the Tall Blacks, with Lindsay Tait huge at crucial times with 6 points and 5 assists.
With the win in the bag Nenad Vucinic will forgive his team the second half wobbles as the intensity of the past few days took a toll, this being the 5th game in 6 days in a crazy schedule that is testing all sides physical and mental toughness at this World Cup. All eyes will now be on the Ukraine v USA match up and hopes that a hotel booking is required in Barcelona for a match up in the round of 16.
New Zealand 67
Fotu 18, Penney 11, C Webster 8
Finland 65
Lee 17, Koponen 13
H/T 44-32
September 5, 2014
The Tall Blacks won a thriller in Bilbao to give themselves a shot at progressing to the knock out stage of the FIBA World Cup, defeating Finland 67-65 in a game of hugely contrasting fortunes. At the time of writing the New Zealanders are now just awaiting other results in Pool C, with the United States needing to defeat Ukraine to ensure the Tall Blacks safe passage to Barcelona.
It was a game of swings as first the New Zealanders came out and took charge early in the game to establish a lead of 20 points early in the third quarter as the Fins had no answer to the Tall Blacks energy and all round contribution from a fiercely determined roster fighting for their lives. The second half however was to prove a wildly contrasting affair, with the Laplanders dominating without ever retaking the lead in a frenetic final few minutes.
Isaac Fotu was the spark that fired up the first half bench led effort from the Tall Blacks, with his 14 points and 6 boards leading an incredible 35 point contribution from the Tall Blacks second unit. With Mika Vukona in early foul trouble with two soft calls against the Tall Blacks defensive leader, Fotu was called from the bench and answered as only he knows how, crashing the boards and finding his range from inside and with a number of soft hand finishes.
The Finnish defence was shutting down New Zealand’s go to outside shooter in Kirk Penney, but the Tall Blacks kept the ball moving and looked to other options, with Everard Bartlett, the Webster brothers and Lindsay Tait all taking responsibility in a balanced first half effort.
The Fins at times proved too much for New Zealand’s defence in the low post, with Lee winning most of his physical confrontations, but they were otherwise forced into less than ideal looks at the basket by the Tall Blacks smothering defence.
Rebounding again proved to be a good barometer of the game’s fortunes, with New Zealand dominating the first half boards to the tune of 17-9, in the process scoring 12 second chance points to frustrate Finland and halt any hint of a run, in the process keeping the large Finnish crowd quiet.
The Tall Blacks threatened to take the game away from Finland early in the third, opening up a lead as big as 20 points on the back of five early points from the up until then quiet Kirk Penney. But the Fins came back strongly at the end of the quarter, closing back to a 12 point deficit heading into the final quarter, knowing it was to be a final ten minutes for one of these two teams in the tournament.
That momentum stayed with the Finland team early in the final quarter, on the back of two Lee layups and some offensive misfiring from the Tall Blacks, the lead was down to eight points and the noise in the arena went up behind the Europeans. The energy stayed with the Finnish side from that point as they finally found some focus on defence against a now tiring New Zealand offence.
The final few minutes had more than its share of big moments, from Kirk Penney’s clutch three to missed layups, a huge charge call against Finland (Vukona putting his body on the line), and an unsportsmanlike foul called on Jarrod Kenny that handed the Fins the chance to take the lead on the next possession. They couldn’t however breach that mental and scoreboard barrier, despite having the last possession of the game and a contested look to take the game into overtime, the ball came up short and the Tall Blacks came up big when it counted most.
Isaac Fotu led all scorers in a coming of age performance for the 20 year old, with 18 points and 8 rebounds while Mika Vukona was a constant warrior in the face of the Finnish team, playing (as always) like his life depended on it for 12 rebounds, 5 points and 3 assists. This was again though a trademark deep effort from the Tall Blacks, with Lindsay Tait huge at crucial times with 6 points and 5 assists.
With the win in the bag Nenad Vucinic will forgive his team the second half wobbles as the intensity of the past few days took a toll, this being the 5th game in 6 days in a crazy schedule that is testing all sides physical and mental toughness at this World Cup. All eyes will now be on the Ukraine v USA match up and hopes that a hotel booking is required in Barcelona for a match up in the round of 16.
New Zealand 67
Fotu 18, Penney 11, C Webster 8
Finland 65
Lee 17, Koponen 13
H/T 44-32
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Basketcase2
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TALL BLACKS BOW OUT
Lithuania held on to beat New Zealand 76-71 in the Round of 16 at Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi on Sunday and reach the Quarter-Finals of FIBA’s flagship event for the third consecutive time while the Tall Blacks depart the tournament.
The Tall Blacks are known for never giving up and have further enhanced that reputation at these World Championships. Down by double-digits early on, they clawed their way back to fight an even battle but Lithuania did enough to edge them out.
A 15-4 run, including eight unanswered points, in the latter part of the first quarter proved enough evidence for the early Lithuanian domination of the floor, the boards and the scoreboard. The Tall Blacks would finish the game even in the rebound count in a sign of their ability to compete with a much bigger team, something they have done throughout the tournament.
New Zealand, who made a gnawing effort to cut the deficit in the third quarter, took the fight to their opponents by scoring the first nine points of the final period, with Isaac Fotu and Corey Webster hitting on three successive three-pointers.
Jonas Valanciunas, the key enforcer of the Lithuanian plans early in the game came back to take charge of the proceedings leading the Jonas Kazlauskas-trained team out of danger.
The Toronto Raptors center had 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Jonas Maciulis, who got a couple of stitches above his right eye-brow following a first-quarter freak accident with Thomas Abercombie, then sealed the issue for Lithuania by hitting from long range.
New Zealand didn’t throw in the towel as yet, but Lithuania proved far too sturdy to give away the advantage.
Corey Webster led New Zealand with a game-high 26, 17 of them coming in the second half and eight in the third period when the Tall Blacks began their resurgence. The Tall Blacks won the second half battle by 5 points against the world number 4 ranked team but were left to rue a quiet start, in which they only scored 9 first quarter points.
Tall Blacks 71
C Webster 26, Fotu 11
Lithuania 76
Valanciunas 22
Lithuania held on to beat New Zealand 76-71 in the Round of 16 at Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi on Sunday and reach the Quarter-Finals of FIBA’s flagship event for the third consecutive time while the Tall Blacks depart the tournament.
The Tall Blacks are known for never giving up and have further enhanced that reputation at these World Championships. Down by double-digits early on, they clawed their way back to fight an even battle but Lithuania did enough to edge them out.
A 15-4 run, including eight unanswered points, in the latter part of the first quarter proved enough evidence for the early Lithuanian domination of the floor, the boards and the scoreboard. The Tall Blacks would finish the game even in the rebound count in a sign of their ability to compete with a much bigger team, something they have done throughout the tournament.
New Zealand, who made a gnawing effort to cut the deficit in the third quarter, took the fight to their opponents by scoring the first nine points of the final period, with Isaac Fotu and Corey Webster hitting on three successive three-pointers.
Jonas Valanciunas, the key enforcer of the Lithuanian plans early in the game came back to take charge of the proceedings leading the Jonas Kazlauskas-trained team out of danger.
The Toronto Raptors center had 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Jonas Maciulis, who got a couple of stitches above his right eye-brow following a first-quarter freak accident with Thomas Abercombie, then sealed the issue for Lithuania by hitting from long range.
New Zealand didn’t throw in the towel as yet, but Lithuania proved far too sturdy to give away the advantage.
Corey Webster led New Zealand with a game-high 26, 17 of them coming in the second half and eight in the third period when the Tall Blacks began their resurgence. The Tall Blacks won the second half battle by 5 points against the world number 4 ranked team but were left to rue a quiet start, in which they only scored 9 first quarter points.
Tall Blacks 71
C Webster 26, Fotu 11
Lithuania 76
Valanciunas 22
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Isaac Fotu foregoing his two remaining years with University of Hawaii to go pro
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/...ity-of-hawaii-to-pursue-pro-basketball-career
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/...ity-of-hawaii-to-pursue-pro-basketball-career
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Fotu signs with CAI Zaragoza
http://www.3news.co.nz/sport/isaac-fotu-to-play-for-spanish-side-cai-zaragoza-2014111212
http://www.3news.co.nz/sport/isaac-fotu-to-play-for-spanish-side-cai-zaragoza-2014111212
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Tai Wynyard in North America for campus visits. Kentucky Wildcats are very interested.
http://kentucky.247sports.com/Bolt/Junior-forward-from-New-Zealand-on-Kentucky-campus-34641450
http://kentucky.247sports.com/Bolt/Junior-forward-from-New-Zealand-on-Kentucky-campus-34641450
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Nick Horvath will be joining the Sydney Kings.
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/basketb...and-big-man-nick-horvath-20150114-12qn3v.html
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/basketb...and-big-man-nick-horvath-20150114-12qn3v.html
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Tai Wynyard commits to Kentucky. http://www.3news.co.nz/sport/tai-wynyard-commits-to-kentucky-2015012610
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Tai Wynyard named part of the NIKE Hoop Summit World Select Team.
http://www.3news.co.nz/sport/us-honour-for-kiwi-basketballer-2015031213#axzz3U8l6a8Lc
http://www.3news.co.nz/sport/us-honour-for-kiwi-basketballer-2015031213#axzz3U8l6a8Lc
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Paul Henare named Tall Blacks coach.
http://www.3news.co.nz/sport/paul-henare-named-tall-blacks-head-coach-2015031610
http://www.3news.co.nz/sport/paul-henare-named-tall-blacks-head-coach-2015031610
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serbianhoops2
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Tall Blacks' 6'2" sharpshooting combo guard Corey Webster ('88) has agreed to a short-term deal (just over 2 months) with Serbian basketball club Mega Leks Sremska Mitrovica.
BTW, Webster's New Zealand Breaker teammate 6'3" american point guard Cedric Jackson ('86), who has recently signed another 2 year deal wih the newly crowned Australian NBL champion, is looking to become a Tall Black.
BTW, Webster's New Zealand Breaker teammate 6'3" american point guard Cedric Jackson ('86), who has recently signed another 2 year deal wih the newly crowned Australian NBL champion, is looking to become a Tall Black.
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Tom Abercrombie signed a short time deal with Gipuzkoa, the Liga Endesa team. Abercrombie joins a number of Tall Blacks in Spain: Kirk Penney is with Sevilla and Isaac Fotu with La Bruixa d'Or.
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Tall Blacks' 2015 Schedule
8-10 July - Trial in Auckland
11-19 July - Preparation camp in NZ (venue TBC)
20 July - Depart for Europe
25 July - v Great Britain, Copperbox, London
29 July - v Croatia, venue TBC
30 July - v Slovenia, venue TBC
3-8 August - Stankovic Cup, China, Mexico, Venezuela, venue TBC
11-13 August - Preparation camp in Auckland
15 August - FIBA Oceania Series v Australia, Melbourne (venue TBC)
18 August - FIBA Oceania Series, v Australia, Wellington
8-10 July - Trial in Auckland
11-19 July - Preparation camp in NZ (venue TBC)
20 July - Depart for Europe
25 July - v Great Britain, Copperbox, London
29 July - v Croatia, venue TBC
30 July - v Slovenia, venue TBC
3-8 August - Stankovic Cup, China, Mexico, Venezuela, venue TBC
11-13 August - Preparation camp in Auckland
15 August - FIBA Oceania Series v Australia, Melbourne (venue TBC)
18 August - FIBA Oceania Series, v Australia, Wellington
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Mika Vukona, currently playing for Italy's Acea Virtus Roma signed a three year deal with the NZ Breakers.
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Paul Henare names player pool:
Tom Abercrombie
Steven Adams
Duane Bailey
Everard Bartlett
Finn Delany
Isaac Fotu
Leon Henry
Shea Ili
Jarrod Kenny
Rob Loe
Jordan Ngatai
Dion Prewster
Ethan Rusbatch
Lindsay Tait
Reuben Te Rangi
Sam Timmins
Mika Vukona
Corey Webster
Tai Wynyard
Matt Freeman
Casey Frank
Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa
Tom Abercrombie
Steven Adams
Duane Bailey
Everard Bartlett
Finn Delany
Isaac Fotu
Leon Henry
Shea Ili
Jarrod Kenny
Rob Loe
Jordan Ngatai
Dion Prewster
Ethan Rusbatch
Lindsay Tait
Reuben Te Rangi
Sam Timmins
Mika Vukona
Corey Webster
Tai Wynyard
Matt Freeman
Casey Frank
Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa
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Tale of the Tape: Tall Blacks vs Boomers
It’s time to rumble! The famous line rattled out just before any big boxing match. For the Tall Blacks Olympic qualifying series vs the Boomers that starts in Melbourne this Saturday , it doesn’t get much bigger than this. (this could be the last direct Olympic qualifier series as FIBA moves to new format after Rio)
Let’s breakdown the big game (a Tale of the tape of the big match so to speak) .
But first a look at the preparation: The Tall Blacks are back in Auckland before they fly out to Melbourne this Wednesday, after a gruelling 3 week Europe and China build up. The team played a total of 8 games ( 1 practice game vs Great Britain), game days included morning practice while off days had 2 practice sessions a day, that’s a lot of basketball and Travel ! ) . The tour was a balancing act of having to give playing time on court to develop as a cohesive unit and insuring players remain healthy. Aside from Leon Henry being unavailable for a few games and Corey Webster having minor health issues the team has been generally healthy. A late development however is backup forward Duane Bailey was hospitalised with suspected appendicitis. Dion Prewster, who was in Auckland, came in as training cover, Caoch Henare has a decision to make on a permanent replacement between Henry and Prewster, as soon as more is known about Bailey's condition
Aside from Corey Webster being a scoring machine, a revelation in the tour was how offensive versatile and proficient big man Isaac Fotu is, despite the Tall Blacks and Isaac being undersize the games vs Croatia, Slovenia and Mexico (had 2 quality bigs) showed Isaac can more than hold his own inside. A revelation was his ability to create his own shots down low against bigger defenders. His constant motor to get rebounds was also impressive. How he matches up against Boomers Bogut and Baynes will really be key and intriguing. It would just be mind boggling if Isaac can hold his own against legitimate NBA starters. While Tai Wynyard got limited playing time in the tour he is virtually our only legitimate size center , don’t be surprise however if we see Tai get some court time against Australia,. As they say you need all the bodies you can get.
The Tall Blacks while obviously undersize., will use speed , smarts and good old Kiwi hustle to combat the disadvantage in size. While our team will be relying significantly on key players Fotu, Webster, Abercombrie and captain Vukona, Paul Henare has been able to develop a well balanced team with players knowing specifically their roles. Loe another stretch 4 type of big will be backing up Issac and Mic inside, Bartlet and Te- Rangi have proven to be able quality back-up wings to Thomas and Corey. While Tait and Kenny are likely to split duties at the point. Surprising though is Henare’s use of Reuben Te- Rangi for stretches as a point guard. That looks to be our main rotation with Ili, Bailey’s replacement and Tai rounding up the final line-up.
The return of San Antonio Spurs star Patty Mills to replace the injured Dante Exum kind of throws a wrench into the whole approach the Tall Blacks were basing their preparations on.
However while the Tall Blacks were neither surprised with Mills inclusion , they’re not particularly concerned by the late addition of the Australian sharpshooter. Obviously Patty is dynamic scorer with NBA experience but he also changes their team’s approach a bit. Whether positively or negatively remains to be seen. While Mills has such an impact on how the Boomers play. They've only got a week to incorporate that into what they've been doing the last couple of weeks in Europe. From a tactical point of view a Patty Mills oriented team is a different dimension to what a more methodical Dante Exum game would present. It will be interesting to see how this pans out and it if it changes the approach the Tall Blacks execute in the game. Note the Tall Black preparations was geared to combat a Patty Mills less Australia team
Aside from Mills and Bogut , NBA players Dellavedova, Ingles and Bairstow are expected to be the Boomers key contributors.
After all the preparation it has come down to this : Saturday: Tall Blacks vs Boomers : It’s time to rumble !
It’s time to rumble! The famous line rattled out just before any big boxing match. For the Tall Blacks Olympic qualifying series vs the Boomers that starts in Melbourne this Saturday , it doesn’t get much bigger than this. (this could be the last direct Olympic qualifier series as FIBA moves to new format after Rio)
Let’s breakdown the big game (a Tale of the tape of the big match so to speak) .
But first a look at the preparation: The Tall Blacks are back in Auckland before they fly out to Melbourne this Wednesday, after a gruelling 3 week Europe and China build up. The team played a total of 8 games ( 1 practice game vs Great Britain), game days included morning practice while off days had 2 practice sessions a day, that’s a lot of basketball and Travel ! ) . The tour was a balancing act of having to give playing time on court to develop as a cohesive unit and insuring players remain healthy. Aside from Leon Henry being unavailable for a few games and Corey Webster having minor health issues the team has been generally healthy. A late development however is backup forward Duane Bailey was hospitalised with suspected appendicitis. Dion Prewster, who was in Auckland, came in as training cover, Caoch Henare has a decision to make on a permanent replacement between Henry and Prewster, as soon as more is known about Bailey's condition
Aside from Corey Webster being a scoring machine, a revelation in the tour was how offensive versatile and proficient big man Isaac Fotu is, despite the Tall Blacks and Isaac being undersize the games vs Croatia, Slovenia and Mexico (had 2 quality bigs) showed Isaac can more than hold his own inside. A revelation was his ability to create his own shots down low against bigger defenders. His constant motor to get rebounds was also impressive. How he matches up against Boomers Bogut and Baynes will really be key and intriguing. It would just be mind boggling if Isaac can hold his own against legitimate NBA starters. While Tai Wynyard got limited playing time in the tour he is virtually our only legitimate size center , don’t be surprise however if we see Tai get some court time against Australia,. As they say you need all the bodies you can get.
The Tall Blacks while obviously undersize., will use speed , smarts and good old Kiwi hustle to combat the disadvantage in size. While our team will be relying significantly on key players Fotu, Webster, Abercombrie and captain Vukona, Paul Henare has been able to develop a well balanced team with players knowing specifically their roles. Loe another stretch 4 type of big will be backing up Issac and Mic inside, Bartlet and Te- Rangi have proven to be able quality back-up wings to Thomas and Corey. While Tait and Kenny are likely to split duties at the point. Surprising though is Henare’s use of Reuben Te- Rangi for stretches as a point guard. That looks to be our main rotation with Ili, Bailey’s replacement and Tai rounding up the final line-up.
The return of San Antonio Spurs star Patty Mills to replace the injured Dante Exum kind of throws a wrench into the whole approach the Tall Blacks were basing their preparations on.
However while the Tall Blacks were neither surprised with Mills inclusion , they’re not particularly concerned by the late addition of the Australian sharpshooter. Obviously Patty is dynamic scorer with NBA experience but he also changes their team’s approach a bit. Whether positively or negatively remains to be seen. While Mills has such an impact on how the Boomers play. They've only got a week to incorporate that into what they've been doing the last couple of weeks in Europe. From a tactical point of view a Patty Mills oriented team is a different dimension to what a more methodical Dante Exum game would present. It will be interesting to see how this pans out and it if it changes the approach the Tall Blacks execute in the game. Note the Tall Black preparations was geared to combat a Patty Mills less Australia team
Aside from Mills and Bogut , NBA players Dellavedova, Ingles and Bairstow are expected to be the Boomers key contributors.
After all the preparation it has come down to this : Saturday: Tall Blacks vs Boomers : It’s time to rumble !