''Underdogs'' New Zealand ready for more World Cup battles

AUCKLAND (New Zealand) - Another draw for a FIBA Basketball World Cup has come and gone and New Zealand are already taking up their customary position as underdogs.

That may spell trouble for the opposition, if the Tall Blacks' history in the competition is anything to go by. The Kiwis, at the recent draw in Shenzhen, ended up in Group F with Greece, Brazil and Montenegro.

If they can manage a top-two finish, New Zealand will play in Group K against the top two sides from a Group E that consists of Turkey, Czech Republic, USA and Japan. The top two sides from that pool will advance to the Quarter-Finals.

"Obviously it will be tough," Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare said, "it should be and will be, that is basketball. Our world ranking consistently puts us in amongst the world’s best teams, but basketball is one of the true global sports, with anyone in the top 50 or 60 capable of beating a top ten team on their day."

New Zealand are No. 38 in the latest FIBA World Ranking presented by NIKE while Greece (No. 8) and Brazil (No. 12) are much higher. Montenegro (No. 28) are 10 spots above the Tall Blacks.

“WE HAVE A PROUD HISTORY OF OVERCOMING THE ODDS. YOU MIGHT SAY WE HAVE BEEN BETTER IN THOSE SITUATIONS, WHEN NO ONE EXPECTS US TO DO WELL, WE LOVE TO BE IN THE FIGHT AS AN UNDERDOG. ”- Henare

The Tall Blacks were fourth in 2002, ninth in 2006, 12th in 2012 and 15th in 2014. At each of those tournaments, New Zealand beat very good teams while just five years ago, they almost reached the Quarter-Finals before falling to Lithuania, 76-71, in the Round of 16.

At the FIBA Asia Cup 2017, New Zealand took a young and inexperienced team to Lebanon and still finished fourth. In the Asian Qualifiers, New Zealand won 10 of their 12 games and enjoyed many a sensational moment.

"Greece and Brazil will be the obvious favorites in the pool, but Montenegro is also a proud basketball nation," Henare said. "We will get to work on some plans on how to achieve success against them all. My job now, with the coaching and support staff, is to pull together a preparation that will give us a shot of playing to our potential, and then of course selecting the final roster."

After our qualifying campaign we have plenty of players putting their hands up to be on that plane."

The 2002 tournament performance by the Tall Blacks, which had both Henare and his assistant, Pero Cameron, in the team, is one that people in international basketball still talk about. Cameron earned a spot on the All-Star Five. No one expected New Zealand to make an impact in that tournament, yet they were sensational.

"We have a proud history of overcoming the odds," Henare said. "You might say we have been better in those situations, when no one expects us to do well, we love to be in the fight as an underdog. The team that we will assemble will pour their hearts and souls into continuing our proud record on the world stage and honouring Tū Kaha by representing the past, the present and the future in everything we do."

FIBA