In preparation for the FIBA Oceania Championships, the Tall Blacks of New Zealand set out on a eight-game European tour.

Unfortunately, they ended the stint with more questions than answers as the Tall Blacks dropped six of the eight games.

Their six losses came at the hands of Estonia (2), Canada, Italy, Belgium, and Finland respectively.

The Tall Blacks were able to pull out two wins; one over Portugal in the inital game of the Tretino Cup held in Tretino, Italy.  Their second win came in their second game against DJ Mbenga and Belgium on a buzzer beating layup by center Alex Pledger to give the Tall Blacks an 83-81 win.

1. Estonia – 58-49  (L)
2. Estonia – 57-54  (L)
3. Portugal – 98-91 (W)
4. Canada – 90-68 (L)
5. Italy – 88-70 (L)
6. Belgium – 98-76 (L)
7. Belgium – 83-81 (W)
8. Finland – 102-91 (L)

The Kiwis’ eight games in twelve days were unsuccessful for a variety of reasons.  Outside of their two matches against Estonia, they allowed their opponents to score 80 or more points in each game.  The Tall Blacks also lacked consistent offense.  Besides Kirk Penney. a former University of Wisconsin shooting guard and last year’s NBL MVP, no other player could be counted on for offensive productivity.

Turnovers were also an issue as the Tall Blacks turnovered the ball more than twice their opponents number in several of the games, and reached 20+ turnovers in at least half their games.

There were bright spots to highlight.  New Zealand does have a very promising future with young frontline players Alex Pledger (22 year old) and Westlake high school phenom Rob Loe (17), as well as 22-year old guard Tom Abercrombie.

As expected, the 28-year old Penney averaged 25 points per game in the eight game tour, and regularly looked spectacular.  The 6-5 guard is at his basketball peak, accumulating two games in which he scored over 30 points and four games in which he scored over 20 points.

New Zealand will partake in the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championships beginning on August 23, 2009.