New Zealand national team (Tall Blacks)

[Saskibaloia]

I don't know... there is no media report here.. and we know, basketball here doesn't get much publicity.. not many people even know that the team is in Europe right now...

I could imagine that the Kiwi media is only talking about the Tri-Nations and the All Blacks build up to next year's Rugby World Cup.

[donmar]

I could imagine that the Kiwi media is only talking about the Tri-Nations and the All Blacks build up to next year's Rugby World Cup.

True. I'm sick of it actually.. I didn't even bother watch the AU-NZ match here in Christchurch... too much rugby.. heck, I just want the Rugby World Cup to happen now

[Saskibaloia]

True. I'm sick of it actually.. I didn't even bother watch the AU-NZ match here in Christchurch... too much rugby.. heck, I just want the Rugby World Cup to happen now

The good thing about Aus is that we love a lot of sports so there's a variety that's why besides my two favourite sports: football and basketball, I'm also follow rugby league and rugby union.

[donmar]

The good thing about Aus is that we love a lot of sports so there's a variety that's why besides my two favourite sports: football and basketball, I'm also follow rugby league and rugby union.

Same... I'm following all sports you mentioned: football ( Well. Phoenix), rugby league (Broncos, Warriors, and the Maroons), rugby union (Crusaders and Canterbury Province, All Blacks, SANZAR teams during the end-of-year Northern tours), basketball (Breakers and my original ANBL team: Sydney Kings = they're back!!!)..

[2fast4u1]

Not long now

I wonder how many New Zealanders know that the basketball world champs start soon? I think we have a chance to upset a few teams.

[donmar]

I wonder how many New Zealanders know that the basketball world champs start soon? I think we have a chance to upset a few teams.

Agree to that.. the Tall Blacks can surely spoil one of the basketball powers' world champ campaign ..

Hehehe I'd say few (mostly Breakers/ANBL/NZNBL fans) but I can see basketball is growing here in NZ...

[mvblair]

I watched New Zealand play today. I haven't seen them in many years. They were great, losing to Lithuania by only 13 points (the fourth quarter seemed closer than that).

Kirk Penney was fantastic. He should be playing for a big time team. I don't know why he didn't stick around the NBA. He's bounced from team to team, but he deserves a good spot somewhere nice.

I was sad to see Pero Cameron play only 8 minutes. It looks like his illustrious career is almost over, unfortunately. Man, what a player. That guy never seemed to have the heart to leave New Zealand or Australia for the big lights of Europe or North America. What a great player.

[Basketcase]

August 29, 2010

Scott Preston, Stuff
There was no first-game upset for the NZ Tall Blacks as they fell 92-79 to Lithuania in their FIBA World Championship opener in Izmir.

Despite a game-high 37 points from shooting guard Kirk Penney, New Zealand fell victim to Lithuania’s high screen-and-roll and inside presence as forward Linas Kleiza went for 27 points and eight rebounds.

Kleiza, now with the Toronto Raptors, torched the Tall Blacks with 11-of-15 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 on three-point attempts, and was assisted by 15 points from big man Paulius Jankunas and 14 points from Jonas Maciulis.

A second-quarter disaster, where the Tall Blacks were out-scored 25-10 and allowed Lithuania easy basket after easy basket, ultimately cost them the game. Although they made small runs in the third and fourth quarters, New Zealand could not find the big momentum-changing basket to seriously threaten down the stretch.

“We came out and didn’t execute defensively and that set the tone for us,” forward Tom Abercrombie said. “Giving up 92 points or whatever it was isn’t going to win you many games.

“I think we did enough offensively to win this game but it’s going to come down to what we can do defensively.”

Down 50-34 at halftime, New Zealand made a run in the third period as centre Alex Pledger provided a spark, coming off the bench to score five points and add some much needed solidity on the boards.

The Kiwis were able to get the deficit down to 10 points, 59-49, at the 5:45 mark in the third. Abercrombie followed with a tip block on Paulius Jankunas at the hoop, then Lindsay Tait made a pair of freebies to bring the Tall Blacks within single digits for the first time since early in the second period.

Still trailing by 11 points with a quarter remaining, New Zealand were able to cut Lithuania’s lead several times in the fourth but could not get over the eight-point hump until it was too late.

A crucial phase in the fourth quarter as the Tall Blacks closed within nine points and had Pledger on the foul-line and a chance to pull within seven, but he missed both; Abercrombie grabbed the offensive rebound, but missed the turnaround hook shot in the lane, and Lithuania then were able to stretch the gap back out to 13 points.

A steal and lay-in by Mika Vukona, who was New Zealand’s second-highest scorer with 19 points, with 2m 24s remaining briefly got the Tall Blacks within seven points, but Lithuania popped the ball into Jankunas, who went to work on an interior defence short on height and also burdened by foul trouble in this game.

Penney’s 37 points came on 10/20 shooting from the floor but the usually accurate NZ Breaker connected on just 1/9 on his long-range attempts. With the rangey Lithuanians on them all night, the Tall Blacks went an anemic 4/25 on threes, part of an overall off-night shooting, making 26/65 field goals.

Despite a 20-12 rebounding disadvantage at halftime, New Zealand were able to win the battle of the boards 38-35, thanks to 11 from Abercrombie before fouling out late and nine from Vukona, who also had the tough defensive assignment of guarding Kleiza most of the game.

The offensive meltdown the Tall Blacks can not afford to have if they want to win games at this tournament came to start the second as Lithuania scored 12 of the first 14 points to go ahead 37-26 at the five-minute mark. It got worse for New Zealand as Lithuania grew their biggest lead at 43-26 with three minutes to play until the half.

The Tall Blacks’ second quarter was summed up in the final seconds when guard Phill Jones showed his frustration at America referee Anthony Jordan, who had been particularly harsh on the Kiwis, for awarding Lithuania the ball out-of-bounds when it appeared to come off the Lithuanian player. With one second remaining, Kleiza drained a long three-pointer at the buzzer to send Lithuania into the locker room up 50-34.

Penney led all scorers with 17 points at the half, but was only 1/4 on his three-point attempts as part of an overall Tall Blacks shooting performance of 12/29 from the field and 3/12 outside the perimeter. New Zealand were guilty of forcing long-range shots or having to rush an attempt late in the shot clock when Lithuania shut down their first, second and sometimes third options.

Lithuania led New Zealand 25-24 after a first quarter which saw the lead change 11 times, with no team leading by more than five points. Of their 25 points, Lithuania had a whopping 20 points in the paint, exposing the Kiwis as not having a genuine center with Sean Marks unable to recover from shoulder surgery and Pledger playing limited minutes.

Penney had 11 points for New Zealand in the first period, not just relying on his usual long-range shots to get his points but also driving to the basket and drawing fouls as he went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.

NZ Tall Blacks 79 (Kirk Penney 37, Mika Vukona 19) Lithuania 92 (Linas Kleiza 27, Paulius Jankunas 15, Jonas Maciulis 14)
Q1 25-24
HT 50-34 (25-10)
Q3 72-61 (24-27)
FT 92-79 (18-18)
NZ v Lithuanian box score (html 140kb)



I hope they will upset Spain tomorrow

[Basketcase]

On Pero Cameron

August 2, 2010
Pero Cameron and Phill Jones

Pero Cameron and Phill Jones

Marc Hinton, Sunday Star Times
They came into the Tall Blacks together 16 long years ago and it’s fitting that Pero Cameron and Phill Jones are set to bring the curtain down alongside each other.

Whether it all ends in another of those unlikely fairytale stories from a side which specialises in the role of giantkiller, or whether it concludes ingloriously amid the realities of the world’s second biggest sport remains to be seen.

But one thing is certain: Cameron, Jones and their fellow Tall Blacks will not go down without a fight in their fourth appearance at basketball’s world championships in Turkey.

They are the ultimate old warriors, these two. Both are 36, both well past 100 caps and both are making international comebacks as their storied careers draw to a close.

Cameron has hardly hit the hardwood in anger for a year after a knee injury and then double stress fracture in his foot sidelined him, many thought permanently. His very presence in the squad in Istanbul preparing for its first build-up game is as unlikely as it is unprecedented. And Jones has had to “un-retire” after hanging up his singlet for the last few international campaigns because of family commitments, the lure of one more dip at the world’s elite just too much to resist. For coach Nenad Vucinic there was never any question he would take these two former national team-mates of his along for one last hurrah. He, more than anyone, knows their value as players, as leaders and, especially, as men for the big occasion.

The skipper and the sharpshooter have been very much the driving force behind a team that has, more often than not, over-achieved beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.

We all remember their roles in the magnificent run to the semifinals at the 2002 world championships in Indianapolis. Jones led the Tall Blacks’ scoring with 18.2 points per game (ninth overall at the championships) and Cameron was their on-court inspirational force, eventually being named with NBA superstars Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Manu Ginobili and Peja Stojakovic in the event’s All-Star five.

But the Tall Blacks have been more than one-hit wonders. They’re now consistently picking up wins over Australia and have risen to the heady ranking of 13th in the world out of over 210 constituents.

And, wouldn’t you know it, the grizzled vets are promising to create more angst as they once again play the role of David against the hoops world’s Goliaths in Turkey.

“We’re a pretty strong team, we go deep,” said Jones. “If teams underestimate us, they could be in trouble. We’ll definitely try to walk over people that don’t respect us. That motivates us. We’re a small nation, and basketball’s not hugely known in New Zealand, but when we get a good group together and get things right, anything can happen.”

Jones is just happy to have Cameron along for what could be their final ride at this level. “He has this impact – he doesn’t mince his words, he tells it how it is – but he has the respect of everyone and you can’t replace a guy like that, even if he’s only on one foot. And he still makes big shots.”

Jones, like all the Tall Blacks, is keen to distance this side from the 2002 heroics. He calls it “the benchmark”, a little moment in time when all the cards fell in the right places. “If that happens again, great, but we just need to take each game on its merit, win the ones we need to, and then, when it’s all over, sit back and reflect on what we’ve done,” he says.

Cameron’s presence would be considered controversial if he wasn’t who he is, with some doubting his ability to keep pace at this level any more.

Just prior to last weekend’s selection trial, doubts even swirled in his head about “whether I could get this done”.

Why, I ask? Surely he’s proven all he needs to? “That’s far from the truth,” says Cameron. “I have proven some things, but maybe 10 other things haven’t gone my way and that’s fine – I think there’s a lot more [to come].”

Cameron likes the feeling of going to battle with some familiar troops, and a few new ones. “It’s fun, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t going to be what I wanted,” he says. “We’ve got some pretty astute coaches, and they know what it’s about at this level.” More importantly, they know what it takes. Men like Cameron and Jones


Truely a world class athlete, he will be hard to replace when he retires, he is also a player coach for the Wellington Saints in the NZ domestic league, who's team won the championship this year.

[donmar]

I watched New Zealand play today. I haven't seen them in many years. They were great, losing to Lithuania by only 13 points (the fourth quarter seemed closer than that).

Kirk Penney was fantastic. He should be playing for a big time team. I don't know why he didn't stick around the NBA. He's bounced from team to team, but he deserves a good spot somewhere nice.

I was sad to see Pero Cameron play only 8 minutes. It looks like his illustrious career is almost over, unfortunately. Man, what a player. That guy never seemed to have the heart to leave New Zealand or Australia for the big lights of Europe or North America. What a great player.

Hey Matt..

Same.. Kirk Penney could easily be the best player "playing" in the Southern Hemisphere (since the likes of Bogut and the Argentines are playing in the NBA, north of the Equator)... I was wondering why he left the NBA years ago but I guess, he doesn't have the patience to wait and shine.. we all know what happen to great shooters in the NBA these days.. JJ Redick is the best example.. a three-point terrorist in the NCAA but after joining the league his role change simply because he is just a shooter..

Anyway, he was offered quite a big lucrative contract by Maccabi (not sure if its the right team) which is not easy to turn down since Maccabi was a successful franchise...

The World Champs will be the last hurrah for the great Pero Cameron... actually, Pero played in the British Basketball League before NZ Breakers get to join the Australian NBL... he's always one of my favourite NZ players..

August 2, 2010
Pero Cameron and Phill Jones

Pero Cameron and Phill Jones

Marc Hinton, Sunday Star Times
They came into the Tall Blacks together 16 long years ago and it’s fitting that Pero Cameron and Phill Jones are set to bring the curtain down alongside each other.

Whether it all ends in another of those unlikely fairytale stories from a side which specialises in the role of giantkiller, or whether it concludes ingloriously amid the realities of the world’s second biggest sport remains to be seen.

But one thing is certain: Cameron, Jones and their fellow Tall Blacks will not go down without a fight in their fourth appearance at basketball’s world championships in Turkey.

They are the ultimate old warriors, these two. Both are 36, both well past 100 caps and both are making international comebacks as their storied careers draw to a close.

Cameron has hardly hit the hardwood in anger for a year after a knee injury and then double stress fracture in his foot sidelined him, many thought permanently. His very presence in the squad in Istanbul preparing for its first build-up game is as unlikely as it is unprecedented. And Jones has had to “un-retire” after hanging up his singlet for the last few international campaigns because of family commitments, the lure of one more dip at the world’s elite just too much to resist. For coach Nenad Vucinic there was never any question he would take these two former national team-mates of his along for one last hurrah. He, more than anyone, knows their value as players, as leaders and, especially, as men for the big occasion.

The skipper and the sharpshooter have been very much the driving force behind a team that has, more often than not, over-achieved beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.

We all remember their roles in the magnificent run to the semifinals at the 2002 world championships in Indianapolis. Jones led the Tall Blacks’ scoring with 18.2 points per game (ninth overall at the championships) and Cameron was their on-court inspirational force, eventually being named with NBA superstars Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Manu Ginobili and Peja Stojakovic in the event’s All-Star five.

But the Tall Blacks have been more than one-hit wonders. They’re now consistently picking up wins over Australia and have risen to the heady ranking of 13th in the world out of over 210 constituents.

And, wouldn’t you know it, the grizzled vets are promising to create more angst as they once again play the role of David against the hoops world’s Goliaths in Turkey.

“We’re a pretty strong team, we go deep,” said Jones. “If teams underestimate us, they could be in trouble. We’ll definitely try to walk over people that don’t respect us. That motivates us. We’re a small nation, and basketball’s not hugely known in New Zealand, but when we get a good group together and get things right, anything can happen.”

Jones is just happy to have Cameron along for what could be their final ride at this level. “He has this impact – he doesn’t mince his words, he tells it how it is – but he has the respect of everyone and you can’t replace a guy like that, even if he’s only on one foot. And he still makes big shots.”

Jones, like all the Tall Blacks, is keen to distance this side from the 2002 heroics. He calls it “the benchmark”, a little moment in time when all the cards fell in the right places. “If that happens again, great, but we just need to take each game on its merit, win the ones we need to, and then, when it’s all over, sit back and reflect on what we’ve done,” he says.

Cameron’s presence would be considered controversial if he wasn’t who he is, with some doubting his ability to keep pace at this level any more.

Just prior to last weekend’s selection trial, doubts even swirled in his head about “whether I could get this done”.

Why, I ask? Surely he’s proven all he needs to? “That’s far from the truth,” says Cameron. “I have proven some things, but maybe 10 other things haven’t gone my way and that’s fine – I think there’s a lot more [to come].”

Cameron likes the feeling of going to battle with some familiar troops, and a few new ones. “It’s fun, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t going to be what I wanted,” he says. “We’ve got some pretty astute coaches, and they know what it’s about at this level.” More importantly, they know what it takes. Men like Cameron and Jones


Truely a world class athlete, he will be hard to replace when he retires, he is also a player coach for the Wellington Saints in the NZ domestic league, who's team won the championship this year.

hey man.. long time no hear here

Pero Cameron's role is pretty much the same role as Asi Taulava in the current Philippine national team... sort of the inspirational leader and the mentor of the younger players...

I think history will see him as New Zealand's Carlos Loyzaga.. lead the Tall Blacks to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Championship and then was named in the FIBA World Championship All-Tournament Mythical Team...

[Basketcase]

Hey Matt..


hey man.. long time no hear here

Pero Cameron's role is pretty much the same role as Asi Taulava in the current Philippine national team... sort of the inspirational leader and the mentor of the younger players...

I think history will see him as New Zealand's Carlos Loyzaga.. lead the Tall Blacks to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Championship and then was named in the FIBA World Championship All-Tournament Mythical Team...

Hey bro. just been busy

I think Rob Loe and Leon Henry should have been included to add more height to the team, for Rob to get the experience and Leon Henry can score which is what we need aside from our defence which they should improve.

[CKR13]

Currently, Kirk Penney is leading the FIBA World Championships in Points-Per-Game (ppg) with 28ppg.

[donmar]

Currently, Kirk Penney is leading the FIBA World Championships in Points-Per-Game (ppg) with 28ppg.

He's in line to become only the second New Zealander to be name in the World Championship all-tournament team since Pero Cameron in 2002

Hey bro. just been busy

I think Rob Loe and Leon Henry should have been included to add more height to the team, for Rob to get the experience and Leon Henry can score which is what we need aside from our defence which they should improve.

Agree to that... I did not expect that they will naturalize Casey Franks and they did.. Loe or Henry could have taken his place.. I guess Frank's experience with most of the Tall Blacks in the ANBL and NZNBL gave him the edge...

[Basketcase]

eptember 1, 2010
Lindsay Tait (FIBA)

Lindsay Tait (FIBA)

The NZ Tall Blacks took a first step towards possibly progressing from their group at the FIBA World Championship for Men with a 108-76 win over Lebanon in Izmir, Turkey, this morning.

Based on a flying start, lock-down defence, a balanced offence and a hot-shooting third period, the Tall Blacks powered to the commanding 32-point win at Halkapinar Arena and put themselves into position to qualify from Group D with one more win.

The win also saw them get the better of former Tall Blacks head coach Tab Baldwin, now in charge of Lebanon.

Shooting guard Kirk Penney top-scored for the third straight game with 26 points, while swingman Tom Abercrombie continued his continued his rapid upswing with 23 points as New Zealand went past 100 points for just the third time in the past six years.

“We had a great start and that was the key for us,” said Penney, who is averaging 28 points per game.

“Their heads dropped a bit and we just got confidence. Coming off two losses we understand how important confidence is.

“The way we started was fantastic but what we did different was that we keep the foot down on the pedal and made sure that we kept working hard defensively and continued to trouble them.

“Obviously we’re very familiar with what Tab runs and had a great understanding of what the opps were going to do. And capitalised on that. Our coaches prepared us very well.”

The usually low-scoring Tall Blacks scored freely throughout the game, helped by a Lebanon team that never brought the intensity defensively, and finished with six scorers in double-digits in a balanced performance. Backing up the outputs of Penney and Abercrombie, Phill Jones dropped 13 points, Lindsay Tait 12, Mika Vukona 11 and Craig Bradshaw 10, while Casey Frank also had eight.

Fadi El Khatid top-scored for the Cedars with 18 points but he was held in check by Penney and Abercrombie. Lebanon shot a healthy 49% on field-goal attempts and 40% on threes.

It was a complete performance from New Zealand against a weaker opponent. They shot 57% (40-of-70) from the field, hit 11 triples, grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and forced Lebanon into 21 turnovers. Almost a total opposite from the Lithuania game, everything the Tall Blacks need to do to win games, they did. Or were allowed to.

Lebanon certainly played their part in the Tall Blacks success, not handling the different defensive looks from the Tall Blacks, being careless with the ball in the lane and being guilty of lowering their effort after New Zealand’s strong first period.

“It was one of those tough days at the office,” Baldwin said.

“It was a game that had a lot of pressure around it. The New Zealand team were very much ready to play. They were like a machine from the start. They didn’t miss a beat. They played really well as a team.

“They beat us easily on the offensive end but the vital part was the way they started defensively. They never let up and kept their foot on our throat. The way they started defensively took us out of any idea that we’d be able to run any kind of systems tonight.”
Ad Feedback

The first quarter was easily the best period the Tall Blacks had produced at this tournament. Near-perfection.

The Tall Blacks shots dropped, they frustrated the Cedars with their pressure defence, the offence ran smoothly, finding open players on cuts to the basket, and they created and exploited mis-matches on the perimeter. And they did it all with Penney scoring only two points.

Abercrombie hit the court scorching hot, hitting the game’s first basket and scoring 10 points in the first four minutes, including a pair of corner threes, as the Tall Blacks forged to a 13-5 lead. The lead grew further as the swarming defence saw Lebanon turn the ball over five times in the first period. The Kiwis also out-hustled Lebanon at the other end, corralling seven offensive rebounds in the quarter, giving them a 12-2 advantage in second chance points.

Abercrombie led all scorers with 14 points at halftime, while Penney was called upon for only seven points as the Kiwis converted 20-of-37 (54 percent) from the floor. El Khatib was held to nine points on six attempts in the first half. Of New Zealand’s 51 first-half points, 28 came in the paint where Abercrombie, Vukona, Bradshaw and Frank were going to work on the boards and around the rim.

The Tall Blacks mixed their defensive looks well, making Lebanon guess by coming at them with full-court man-on and zone pressure but also dropping back and switching to zone defences in the halfcourt at time. Unlike against Lithuania and Spain, the move was successful in disrupting Lebanon’s offence, which never got into a rhythm and relied mostly on individual moves, especially from El Khatib, for their points.

While Abercrombie, Bradshaw and Vukona got their points in the first half, the third period was Penney time.

After a quiet first half, Penney almost single-handedly put the dagger in Lebanon. Curling off screens, Penney dropped four threes, scored 14 points for the quarter and showed why many international media feel he should be playing in the NBA. New Zealand’s lead went past 20 points at the 5:37 mark in the third and they were able to prevent any Lebanon runs. They continued to limit Lebanon’s leading scorer El Khatid and increased the gap to 25 points.

Whether it was confidence from a 20-plus point lead or the heat, a small pocket of the Kiwi fans - members of the “Rabid Wekas” - removed their white singlets during a timeout with a minute remaining in the third period, revealing yet more white.

When Penney hit his sixth three and Tait followed with a steal in the back-court and lay-in to put the Tall Blacks up 92-59 with 5:36 remaining, it shut the door on a comprehensive win and saw coach Nenad Vucinic go to his bench.

The only downside was the ease Lebanon centre Jackson Vroman was able to get to the basket, defended by Bradshaw, but Vroman got himself in foul trouble and was not much of a factor in the game after the first period.

The win marked the third time the Tall Blacks have scored three figures since 2005. The other two times were in the 100-78 Oceania Championship-clinching win over Australia last August and a 100-70 win over Venezuela during the South America tour in 2006.

NZ Tall Blacks 108 (Kirk Penney 26, Tom Abercrombie 23, Phill Jones 13, Lindsay Tait 12, Mika Vukona 12, Craig Bradshaw 10) Lebanon 76 (Fadi El Khatib 18, Jean Abd El Nour 12, Jackson Vroman 10)
Q1 32-16
HT 51-32 (19-16)
Q3 81-56 (30-24)
FT 108-76 (27-20)

[B]That alley oop pass from Jones to Abercrombie was the final nail to their coffin.

[Bernard]

Well played Tall Blacks !!
game well earned ! Kirk was simply ON FIRE !! actually the whole team was unstoppable !!
knowing all Tab Baldwin's tricks i guess it was somehow easy to outplay his team and systems.
Anyways Good luck in the rest of the games!

Long Live Lebanon !! (Except All the Politicians !!)