2011 FIBA Oceania Men's Championship

[Saskibaloia]

G'day lads,

It's that time of year when the only two competitive national teams in the Oceania region take on each other to have the bragging rights in the region.

In 2009, the Tall Blacks defeated the Boomers even though the Boomers did feature former NBA BEAST: Nathan Jawai (208 cm, 125kgs).

So who will take out this edition of the FIBA Oceania Men's Championship?

Possibly, Australia will bring in a couple of the lads who are based in Europe but will still feature players from the local team. It is close to impossible to see Patty Mills or Bogut in the series and I'm sure that David Andersen will probably skip the series.

I'm not sure about the latest news on the Tall Blacks but the main headlines is the signing of former Tall Blacks Captain and Legend: Pero Cameron as the new Assistant Coach. Of course, the Kiwis are happy to hear that the NBA Lockout is occuring as this definitely reduces the Aussies' chances of using their NBA duo.

At the end of the day, the Kiwis are deadset in attempting to defeat the Boomers in any sport including basketball.

I can imagine this being a close series unlike back in the 1990s when the Andrew Gaze-led Boomers squad would easily defeat the Kiwis.

And finally, in regards to the chances of Kyrie Irving playing for the Boomers is obviously a fat chance as there would be multiple negotiations needed to be done between so many different stake holders as Irving has played for the US in the junior ranks.

[CKR13]

I am interested to see on how New Zealand will capitalize on the absence of Bogut for Australia.

[Dtown]

An interesting thought occurs to me. What would happen if New Zealand won, and then Australia sent a full strength team to the Additional qualifiers? That team might be strong enough to break up the usual European domination.

[D-Plan]

Always don`t understand where is 2 more competetors.I mean Oceania is not only Australia and New Zealand.I understand that there are a lot of poor countries in region but come on even Papua NG and Solomon Islands don`t participate

[thegreekmeister]

Always don`t understand where is 2 more competetors.I mean Oceania is not only Australia and New Zealand.I understand that there are a lot of poor countries in region but come on even Papua NG and Solomon Islands don`t participate

Somehow the system is a little confusing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIBA_Oceania_Championship

For instance take year 2009. There are FIBA World qualification where NZ won (and no thord team participated, why?)
And then in the same year they have FIBA Oceania tournament where NZ was only fourth after Guam and New Caledonia

[JGX]

The "Oceania Basketball Tournament" doesn't have the full Australia and New Zealand teams, usually it is some sort of youth team.

Guam challenged NZ for the 2000 Olympic berth when Australia was automatically qualified as hosts...NZ won by 82 points.

[sinobball]

Guam challenged NZ for the 2000 Olympic berth when Australia was automatically qualified as hosts...NZ won by 82 points.

Why Guam though? Was there some qualifier because in 1997 American Samoa won the Oceania Tournament over Guam.

[Mindozas]

Why Guam though? Was there some qualifier because in 1997 American Samoa won the Oceania Tournament over Guam.

My guess would be - all other just refused to participate

[JGX]

This article says that Fiji, Samoa, and American Samoa all withdrew:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=14918

Also this interesting bit:

Western Samoa's withdrawal stymied what could have been an interesting coaching match-up: Auckland's four-times national championship-winning coach Tab Baldwin, twice rejected for the Tall Black job, was asked to take the Samoans and was considering the job.

[CAREY33]

FIBA Oceania Men/Women

Can someone confirm the teams participating in the FIBA Oceania Champtionship for Men and Women? Also, where can I find schedules and venue information? Thanks.

[Dtown]

Australia and New Zealand are the only ones competing, you can find more information here.

http://london2012.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/12/olym/p/index.html

[CAREY33]

Thanks for the info. Anyone have information in regards to what venues will be held for the championships?

[aussieasker]

Thanks for the info. Anyone have information in regards to what venues will be held for the championships?

Game 1 - Wednesday 7 September – State Netball Hockey Centre (Melb.)
Game 2 – Friday 9 September - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Game 3 – Sunday 11 September – Sydney Entertainment Centre

[CAREY33]

Game 1 - Wednesday 7 September – State Netball Hockey Centre (Melb.)
Game 2 – Friday 9 September - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Game 3 – Sunday 11 September – Sydney Entertainment Centre

Thank you. So the mens and womens game will be played in the same venue each day?

[sinobball]

Thank you. So the mens and womens game will be played in the same venue each day?

That's correct, double headers. With the women's games it's no contest, AUS sweeps easily. With the men, NZL has improved a lot in the past few years and could give a serious run against the Aussies who are missing some players, in my opinion.