Issue 53 - July 2012 Hi from the Front Desk In this Issue In what was a busy month for our National Teams, Tall Blacks Miss Out on Olympic Dream unfortunately both the Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns were unable to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. Tall Ferns’ Olympic Dream Wilts BBNZ Awards It was going to be a tough ask for the two teams, as they WBC (Nelson Tournament) would be without stars Kirk Penney and Thomas Abercrombie, as they both were forced out with EOI 2013 Junior Teams Staff Positions injuries. Referees Corner Kiwi Men Rule Oceania 3X3 But the play of 17 year old Tai Webster, was the high point of the trip as he led the team with 21 points in their 68-64 Upcoming Tournaments win over Angola in pool play. Under 13 Premiership Results Congratulations to Paul Trass, Bruce Martin and Pauline Patterson, recipients of the Basketball New Zealand 50 Years Service Award for their outstanding contribution to basketball in New Zealand. Well done to our Kiwi Boys, who took out the Oceana 3x3 Tournament which was held in at Coffs Harbour, Australia, beating the host side 18-12 in the Finals. The team was coached by Anthony Corban, who previous- Upcoming Events ly steered New Zealand to the FIBA 3×3 Youth World Championship title last year. WBC Hutt Valley Tournament (July 20-22) London Olympics (July 27– August 12) The 2012 Women’s Basketball Championships began last Open Premierships (August 10-12) month and it should be a competitive season, with two more BBNZ Board Meeting (August 12) tournaments to be played. Regional Under 18 & 20 Tournaments (August 14-15) Hutt Valley Flyers got off to a flying start emerging as the only unbeaten team in the Nelson Tournament. Fiba Under 17 Womens World Championships (August 17-26) The next tournament will be held in Hutt Valley, which WBC Dunedin Tournament (August 23-25) should come in handy for the Flyers. London Paralympics (August 29) Secondary Schools Premierships It is with great pleasure that we introduce Maylene Godinet, (September 5-8) the newest addition to the Basketball New Zealand team. Maylene starts in the role of Executive Assistant/ Office Coordinator which was previously held by Melinda Hodgson who has moved into the role of National Teams Coordinator. Wishing you all the best, The team at Basketball New Zealand Issue 53 - July 2012 Tall Blacks Miss Out on London Olympics The Tall Blacks' Olympic dream ended in Venezuela after going 1-1 through pool play losing to Macedonia 84-62, but defeating Angola 68-64. In the process, teenager Tai Webster confirmed the promise that may well see the national men's team rise from the ash- es of what has been a frustrating 2012 campaign. Webster led all scorers with 21 points, which included five three pointers in the win over Angola. After the heavy loss to Macedonia the day before, New Zealand needed to beat their African rivals by 27 points to advance to the quarterfinals of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Caracas. (Tai Webster—Fiba) If they'd been slow out of the blocks against the European As the adversaries entered the home stretch, New Zealand upstarts, the Kiwi remedied the situation in their second still clung to a 58-52 edge and stretched it a little further outing of the competition, running up seven points - including when Loe hit consecutive baskets, the first from the arc. a three from Webster (17) - before their rivals got on the board. But, by now, they were starting to make too many errors - fouls, turnovers and conceded offensive rebounds - and the Forward Rob Loe chimed in with another long-distance buck- Angolans were pressing hard. When Eduardo Mingas hit a et later in the period as the lead grew to eight, but An- pair of freebies with 3m 28s on the clock, capping a six-point gola got back in contention when two fouls from veteran Ca- run, they were back within a shot of the lead. sey Frank - one an unsportsmanlike - gifted them six quick points. But point guard Lindsay Tait stroked a three-pointer - his first points of the encounter - added another basket and New Zealand were again in foul trouble - captain Mika Vuko- snatched a crucial offensive board to keep the game safe. na and Frank had two in the opening quarter and Angola shot 8/10 from the free-throw line to trail just 12-14 at the first The result meant Group D finished in a three-way tie, but the break. Kiwis' 22-point loss in their opener was never going to help them advance. But Webster had found his range - he added two more treys soon after the resumption and a third midway through the It was a grim defensive struggle - the Tall Blacks shot just period brought up a double-figure advantage. When Leon 35% from the field, but restricted their opponents to 32% - Henry also joined the party, the Tall Blacks seemed to have where New Zealand's 12/35 from afar proved a difference finally found some offensive flow. maker. The lead reached 18 points and stood at 40-26 by halftime, Led by Mingas' 17 points/10 rebounds, Angola used their and defensively, the Kiwis had held their opponents to 6/27 athleticism to secure 20 offensive boards, but were probably from the field. Suddenly, the huge points differential didn't happy enough to secure their path into the next stage. look so insurmountable. FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament The dream was still alive. Caracas, Venezuela But sustaining such dominance at this level isn't easy and Wednesday, July 4 Angola scored the first six points out of the break to sneak Macedonia 84 (Bo McCalebb 23, Pero Antic 17) within single figures again. New Zealand 62 (Alex Pledger 11) They then scored eight more in a row, including treys to Thursday, July 5 Carlos Morais and Armando Costa, to close within three. New Zealand 68 (Webster 21, Henry 15, Loe 13) Angola 64 (Mingas 17, Cipriano 11) Issue 53 - July 2012 Tall Ferns' Olympic Dream Wilts New Zealand’s chances of having a women’s basketball team at the London Olympics ended after the Tall Ferns suffered a heart-breaking 51-54 loss to Argentina at the FI- BA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Ankara, Turkey, today. The result – on the back of the loss to Czech Republic – means the Kiwis will not qualify out of their pool to contest the last five remaining spots in the London draw. “We counted on winning this game, but we didn’t really per- form up to what we hoped,” lamented captain Natalie Tay- lor. ”For us, certain players all need to be on the same page and today, we weren’t on the same page. (Natalie Taylor—Fiba) The Kiwis began the game stronger against their higher- ranked opponents, controlling the opening tip and immedi- “We boxed out - I believe there was a call missed,” insisted ately scoring through forward Lisa Wallbutton inside the coach Kennedy Kereama. “It was just a disappointing end. paint. They threatened to break away and any time Argentina snatched the initiative – usually through veteran forward Car- “We had a number of plays and number of shots we olina Sanchez – skipper Natalie Taylor would step up to hit could’ve made, but at the end of the day, they made the big a three-pointer to restore the advantage. shots.” After not finding their range from the arc at all against But while the Argentines were only marginally better (32%), Czechs, the Ferns connected four times in the first half – they landed seven from afar, probably the biggest differ- three to Taylor and one to older sister Charmian Purcell – ence between the teams. but would revert to previous form after the break. Taylor led her troops from the front with 19 points (6/11 FG, Late in the second quarter, momentum switched as New 3/6 3pt, 4/6 FT), six rebounds and two steals, while Ed- Zealand began turning the ball over and conceding offensive mondson was another to help the cause with 10 points (5/8 rebounds. When forward Sandra Pavon hit from long dis- FG) and six rebounds. Sanchez was the best of the South tance late in the period, Argentina were suddenly six points Americans with 16 points (5/15 FG, 2/7 3pt, 4/4 FT). up and led 32-28 at the break. “Over the past couple of years, we’ve been building with Those turnovers – point guard Micaela Cocks already had this core group,” said Taylor. “For us, this was hopefully four of the 10 – were gifting their rivals extra opportunities, going to be a milestone for the group. We’re still fairly which they hadn’t taken full toll of yet. young, so hopefully we can come back from this.” Soon after the restart, point guard Debora Gonzalez struck Argentina and Czech Republic will progress from Group B, from the arc as the margin became nine points and with 10 and will meet in the final preliminary game tomorrow to de- minutes remaining, Argentina still held the upper hand at 43- cide quarterfinal crossovers. New Zealand must now set 37. their sights on next year’s FIBA Oceania Championship in the hope of qualifying for the 2014 world championships. Midway through the final quarter, Taylor got the Ferns within two points and had a timeout with 34 seconds left to engi- FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament neer a go-ahead basket. But forward Jillian Harmon missed Ankara, Turkey with 13 seconds on the clock and the Ferns had to hope their rivals would slip up from the free-throw line.