Bogut, Boomers will be pulling for the Tall Blacks

MELBOURNE (2015 FIBA Oceania Championship) - The first thing Andrew Bogut set out to do this summer after capturing an NBA crown with the Golden State Warriors was to help Australia beat New Zealand to a place in the 2016 Olympics.

Having achieved that with two victories at the FIBA Oceania Championship, the Boomers center is now hoping that the Kiwis make it to Rio de Janeiro via one of the three FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQTs).

"It will be a tough one, but it depends if Stevie [Steven] Adams puts his hand up and plays, then they have a puncher's chance," Bogut said to the New Zealand media.

Adams, the Oklahoma City Thunder center, has passed on the opportunity to play for the Tall Blacks the past two summers but New Zealand remain hopeful that he will eventually play for the team.

Without Adams, the Kiwis were undersized against against Australia's bigs.

Paul Henare's side was nevertheless combative against Australia and extremely difficult to overcome. 

Australia prevailed in the first encounter, 71-59, in Melbourne, and again three days later in Wellington, 89-79.

They [New Zealand] play very well together. - Bogut

"They play a unique style, they upset a couple of teams over in Europe, and in that tournament, you never know what can happen," Bogut said.

"But we're pulling for them, we hope they can make it."

The three OQTs will consist of six teams in each.

New Zealand competed at the 2012 OQT in Caracas, Venezuela, and lost to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MKD) but won against Angola.

The results were not good enough to claim one of the three places up for grabs to the London Olympics that were staged shortly after.

FIBA