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Good read and barring injuries, Steven Adams could finally suit up for the Tall Blacks.
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Sacramento Kings
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The good news for the Tall Blacks is that Kirk Penney confirmed via his Twitter account that he is planning to play in the WC. It will be a quite decent roster if they also bring in Adams and the 3 college guys (Webster, Loe, Fotu). Their major issue is the lack of a true PG, so it would be a wise move to naturalise someone who can play this position. Cedric Jackson would be the obvious option. Did he ever apply for the citizenship or not?Originally posted by CKR13 View PostComment
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Tall Blacks update: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news...ectid=11223750Sacramento Kings
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Tall Blacks v South Korea
The Tall Blacks begin their World Cup year with a televised home series against South Korea:
Tuesday 15 July:
TSB Bank Stadium, Wellington
Thursday 17 July:
ASB Bank Stadium, Tauranga
Saturday 19 July:
North Shore Events Centre, Auckland
Tickets available through Ticketek soon.Comment
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Rob Loe has accepted the invite of the Golden State Warriors for the NBA Summer League.Sacramento Kings
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Tall Blacks 17 man squad to play against Korea in a three game leg of friendlies.
Thomas Abercrombie, Benny Anthony, Everard Bartlett, Joshua Bloxham, Isaac Fotu, Casey Frank, Nick Horvath, Jarrod Kenny, Kirk Penney, Alex Pledger, Jack Salt, Lindsay Tait, Tohi Smith-Milner, Mika Vukona, Corey Webster, Tai Webster, Tai Wynyard.
Wynyard is an intriguing prospect, 16 year old and already is a 7 footer. Vucinic wants to test these youngsters against the visiting Koreans it seems.Sacramento Kings
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Start of the 3rd quarter and NZ leads Korea 56-24. Tai Webster and Kirk Penney leading the attack. All 12 Tall Blacks have scored in this game.Sacramento Kings
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75-42 now as Kirk Penney is showing Korea how a deadeye shooter he is. That's 17 points and counting for Penney.Sacramento Kings
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Tall Blacks crushing Korea 102-69 as every Tall Blacks player scored in this one. That 2nd quarter rout broke the game wide open.Sacramento Kings
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I had the chance to watch some highlights of the 1st game and the entire 2nd game.Originally posted by CKR13 View Post
* NZ has a PG issue, Tait is the only true PG of this team. I don't think the Websters will be able to handle extreme defensive pressure as PGs.
* At the moment, it seems that Nick Horvath is ahead of Casey Frank in the race for the naturalized spot.
* Alex Pledger was injured during the 2nd game of the series. They said it's just a toe injury and nothing to worry about.
* Abercrombie is the only true SF in the squad. According to Vucinic, Vukona and Fotu will get minutes in SF position.
If I were Vucinic, I would pick:
Tait, T. Webster,
Penney, C. Webster, Bartlett
Abercrombie, Vukona
Fotu, Loe, Anthony
Pledger, HorvathComment
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It is good to see Pledger recovering just in time for the Tall Blacks preparation, 2 months ago, I thought he would miss the world cup. Future looks bright for the Tall Blacks.Originally posted by sixama23 View PostSacramento Kings
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http://www.3news.co.nz/Alex-Pledger-...9/Default.aspxAlex Pledger out for Tall Blacks decider against Korea
Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic will hold off until game day to name his 12 players for the third and final game against Korea in Auckland.
The Saturday night game at North Shore Events Centre will be the series decider after Korea fought back to even the series 1-1 in Tauranga on Thursday, after getting blown out in Wellington on Tuesday.
Injuries and illness play a part in Vucinic’s selection, with players struggling for fitness.
Alex Pledger and Jarrod Kenny will both definitely miss the game with foot injuries, while Nick Horvath will face a late fitness test for his back injury that kept him out of the second match.
Pledger will undergo an MRI scan on his big toe, while Kenny is nursing an injury that has kept him out of the series against Korea.
There was positive news for the Tall Blacks, with Casey Frank, Everard Bartlett and Isaac Fotu all training today and expected to be fit for tomorrow.
Vucinic has made no secret of resting players if he doesn't see them as fully fit.
"We are in the very early stages of our preparation for Spain which is still over a month away and clearly South Korea are almost two months in advance of us, they have been in camp since late May," said Vucinic.
"We have to find that balance, an understanding of where we are at looking ahead to the World Cup, but wanting to put on a strong performance in front of our home fans in the final game before we head overseas on the road to Spain."Comment
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Tall Blacks winning 89-81 thanks to the fiery 1st and 2nd quarter where Korea could not contain them. 4th quarter, NZ rested the players and that allowed Korea to make the lost rather respectable.
Later this month, Tall Blacks will travel to Korean soil to face the national team twice more:
July 29 Seoul Student Gymnasium
July 31 Seoul Student GymnasiumSacramento Kings
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Alex Pledger is in doubt for the World Cup. MRI has shown that he damaged ligaments in his big toe. He ll be out for 4-6 weeks.Originally posted by CKR13 View Post
His absence will be a huge blow for NZ, unless he recovers on time for the WC.Comment
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Tallblacks win series
In what was almost a repeat of game one in Wellington, the Tall Blacks wrapped up the Burger King International Series with a comfortable 89-81 win over South Korea at the North Shore Events Centre tonight, albeit the visitors showed great fight to close what was a 20 point margin to single figures by the final buzzer.
After playing down on energy in Tauranga on Thursday night, Nenad Vucinic’s team clearly got the message in the time since, coming out full of aggression at both ends of the floor to lead 52-32 at halftime on the back of an accurate shooting display.
Vucinic was happy with the performance and the value of the Burger King Series to his team at this early stage of preparation for the FIBA World Cup.
“This has been a great series for us, as I have said throughout the Korean team is quicker and fitter than us at the moment, that is to be expected as we are only into our second week of preparation. We now have some decisions to make tonight about the 14 players we will take to Asia and Europe to continue our preparation for Spain, but I am happy with this series. While there are plenty of things to work on, this is a good group, the key is going to be to blend the youth with the veterans on this team.”
It was an all-round effort from the Tall Blacks, again much in the same fashion as their opening display in Wellington with Kirk Penney the standout, leading all scorers with 26 points. Tom Abercrombie pitched in with 14 while Mika Vukona dominated the boards, pulling in 15 rebounds with good support from Isaac Fotu with 6 boards.
The Tall Blacks shut down Korea’s biggest offensive threat in the series so far Tae Jong Moon, keeping the veteran forward to just 13 on the night and generally nullifying anything the visitors had to throw at them. Kim Sun Hyung led Korea with 17 points.
The travelling party of 14 players to leave for Korea, China, Lithuania and Serbia en-route to Spain will be named at 11am on Sunday with a press release, Nenad Vucinic will be available for further comment on the make-up of that touring roster following that release. One player who won’t be travelling however is centre Alex Pledger, the Breakers big man faces a 4 to 6 week recovery on his foot injury suffered in game two and will not travel.
“We really feel for Alex at this time, he has come back from his surgery and now he has another injury, unrelated to the first one. The advice we have is that his recovery will be 4 to 6 weeks but we have not shut the door on his involvement at the World Champs, we will assess him regularly and make a decision closer to Spain as to whether can still come into the group and help us.”
Tall Blacks 89
Penney 26, Abercrombie 14, Corey Webster 11
Korea 81
Kim 17, Moon 13Comment
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