02/03 BASKETBALL NEW ZEALAND MESSAGES From our Chair 4 From our Chief Executive 5 NATIONAL TEAMS New Zealand Tall Blacks 6 New Zealand Tall Ferns 8 National Junior Teams 10 FIBA 3x3 Championship 16 COMPETITIONS Bartercard National Basketball League 18 Women’s Basketball Championship 20 National Tournaments 22 Skycity NZ Breakers 28 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Consolidated Statement of Financial Performance 32 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position 34 Consolidated Statement of Equity 35 Notes to the Financial Statements 36 Auditor’s Report 41 BASKETBALL NEW ZEALAND TEAM Board, Staff & Life Members 42 BASKETBALL NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL REPORT 2012 FROM OUR CHAIR FROM OUR CHAIR In September, we welcomed new chief executive Iain Potter to BBNZ. Iain spent the last few months of the year familiarising himself with the basketball community and establishing several priority projects for attention in 2013. Interim chief executive Murray Strong completed his duties with BBNZ at around the same time. The board wishes to record its gratitude for the work Murray undertook while the search for a permanent chief executive was underway. 2012 was a year of change for Basketball New Zealand, as we consulted on the recommendations of the All of Basketball Plan and then began implementing them. The new tournament calendar was a good example of that work. “Business as usual” was still a big focus, with the national tournaments all providing fantastic examples of what is great about basketball – passion, fun, excitement, family, friends, competition and camaraderie. A highlight was the FIBA Oceania U19 Championship for Men and Women, hosted by Porirua in September. This event was very well delivered and earned praise from FIBA officials for the manner in which it was run – congratulations Porirua and BBNZ tournament staff. The big disappointment of 2012 was the news that basketball is not considered a “high performance” sport in terms of funding from High Performance Sport New Zealand. This decision imposes some serious challenges on us as a truly international sport – but it also reminds us that basketball is our sport and ultimately, it is up to us to take responsibility for its success. BBNZ is working hard to address the funding issues this decision has raised and we ask for your assistance in making sure we can continue to compete on the international stage. Financially, the environment remained difficult, but in large part thanks to the diligence of BBNZ staff in keeping costs down and together with a revenue increase, a positive financial result was achieved. Also, Sport New Zealand continued to offer very welcome support and as a measure of confidence, have confirmed their support through to mid-2015. BBNZ is very appreciative that Sport NZ can see the potential basketball has for New Zealand youth. We are also appreciative of the support provided by the charitable trusts that have continued to help our sport either directly through BBNZ or through our affiliated members. During 2013 and beyond, BBNZ aims to develop a commercial strategy that will help build the sport at its grassroots, as well as at the high performance level. This will take time, as we need to demonstrate to prospective commercial partners that we have attractive options for them to partner with. We need to have our national teams competing within New Zealand regularly, in front of their communities and in the media, offering positive exposure for our sport and our partners. We need to be able to readily communicate with the basketball community and to offer that opportunity to our partners – these will be priorities during 2013. The NBL provided a positive window into basketball, providing a much-needed profile for our game. BBNZ thanks the NBL board for the positive results achieved in 2012. Similarly, the New Zealand Breakers provided many thrills for the sport, with their nail-biting ANBL win for a second year in a row. I would like to thank all BBNZ board members for their hard work over the year. The board worked very well together, and to help ensure we continue to do so and improve where we can, we undertook an internal performance review during the year. Thanks are owed to the BBNZ staff, who has worked hard to keep things moving in an environment, where there was a lot of change and uncertainty. Thanks also to everyone in the associations, who have strongly supported the need to change and the vision contained within the All of Basketball Plan. I look forward to a very positive few years, as we turn the vision into reality. Karen Poutasi Chairperson BASKETBALL NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL REPORT 2012 FROM OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE 04/05 FROM OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE Kia ora koutou Thank you everyone for helping me familiarise myself with the basketball scene during my first few months with Basketball New Zealand. It is both a challenging and exciting time for basketball. We have the compelling vision encompassed within the All of Basketball Plan and there is plenty of evidence showing how popular basketball is with New Zealand communities, our youth in particular. However, we also face challenges on the financial front, both at an organisational level (BBNZ and associations) and for talented individuals who gain national selection. Change also brings challenges as “old” ways are left behind and “new” ways are introduced. We won’t get everything right first time, but with constructive feedback and a willingness to get it right, we can build something great. I am very appreciative of the willingness many in the basketball community have already demonstrated by agreeing to be part of the project teams BBNZ has initiated to help us design what “best” looks like across many areas of the sport. The passion and love for the game that I have witnessed since coming on board gives me confidence that we can collectively achieve the vision that was endorsed at the 2012 AGM. The willingness of funders to buy into the story has been humbling – thank you to our supporters and funders, especially Sport NZ, Peak, Molten, NZCT, Lion Foundation, Infinity Foundation, FIBA and BCD Travel. The challenge to find funding for the Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns is a significant one, but it is achievable. It has to be, if we want to continue the long and proud tradition these teams have created, but we will only do it with your help. Thank you again for your help thus far. Iain Potter Chief Executive BASKETBALL NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL REPORT 2012 NATIONAL TEAMS 06/07 NEW ZEALAND TALL BLACKS Exactly 10 years after their historic run to the FIBA World Championship semifinals at Indianapolis, the national men’s team suffered a year to forget, but one that could haunt them for a while. After failing to reach the London Olympics through the Oceania Championships, the Tall Blacks were obliged to take the scenic route through the last- ditch qualifying tournament in Venezuela. But the campaign got off to a tough start, when captain Kirk Penney and world-class forward Tom Abercrombie both withdrew with injuries. Their absence was always likely to make the challenge even more daunting and so it proved. The preparation took another hit when China But the programme was not a complete failure – cancelled a tournament that was to be a key part of without Penney or Abercrombie, several young the Tall Blacks build-up, depriving them of top-class players stepped up and showed they were ready for games en route to Caracas. bigger roles in future Tall Blacks teams. The biggest “find” was teenage rookie Tai Webster, who quickly Under the expert tutelage of coach Nenad Vucinic established himself as the starting point guard. and captaincy of Mika Vukona, the players took some time to establish new roles without their But the performances did not sufficiently impress two stars and by the time they achieved that, High Performance Sport NZ, which cut all funding it was too late. to the team at the end of the year. A big opening loss to Macedonia put them on the With a place at the 2014 FIBA World Championship back foot and although they managed to overcome still guaranteed, the Tall Blacks have the talent and Angola in their second game, creating a three-way the opportunities to return to the top echelon of tie for two quarterfinal spots, the points differential world basketball, but must now find another source was never going to work in their favour. of funding to take full advantage of that potential. NEW ZEALAND tall blacks NZ IN SOUTH AMERICA OFFICIAL TEAM 2012 SAN CARLOS, BRAZIL Hayden Allen Rob Loe Lost to Brazil 4 9 – 7 3 Auckland Pirates St Louis University Lost to Greece 6 9 – 9 9 Josh Bloxham Alex Pledger Nelson Giants Auckland Pirates Lost to Nigeria 6 6 – 7 0 Everard Bartlett Lindsay Tait Bay Hawks Auckland Pirates Casey Frank Jeremiah Trueman FIBA OLYMPIC Wellington Saints Manawatu Jets QualifYING Tournament Leon Henry Mika Vukona Otago Nuggets Nelson Giants Caracas, VENEZUELA Jarrod Kenny Tai Webster Bay Hawks Auckland Pirates Lost to Macedonia 6 2 – 8 4 Beat Angola 6 8 – 6 4 COACH Nenad Vucinic ASSISTANT COACHES Pero Cameron Paul Henare MANAGER Claire Dallison PHYSIOTHERAPIST Anousith Bouaaphone BASKETBALL NEW ZEALAND ANNUAL REPORT 2012 NATIONAL TEAMS 08/09 NEW ZEALAND TALL FERNS Since the Beijing Olympics and the collapse of the Christchurch Sirens, New Zealand’s best women have had to travel to all corners of the globe to keep their basketball dream alive. Cast your eye down the Ferns roster this year and you’ll find players based in Australia, Italy, England, US colleges and, occasionally, at home in New Zealand.