New Zealand venues for FIBA Oceania Championships showdowns revealed

WELLINGTON (2015 FIBA Oceania Championship/2015 Oceania Championship for Women) - Fans of New Zealand's national teams, the Tall Ferns and Tall Blacks, are going to have a week of basketball they will never forget in August.

Basketball New Zealand have decided to stage the return legs of the teams' respective FIBA Oceania Championships in different cities and on different days, with the Tall Ferns hosting the No. 2 team in the FIBA bwin Ranking Women, Australia's Opals, in Tauranga on 17 August and the Tall Blacks squaring off against the Boomers in Wellington on 18 August.

The announcement is a big boost for the Tall Ferns, who are aiming to beat Australia in the FIBA Oceania Championship for the first time.

"We are serious about improving the profile and performances of our Tall Ferns team," Basketball New Zealand CEO Iain Potter said in a statement.

"While we are still restricted in the budget we have available for the program, providing a stand-alone game is one way of ensuring that they have the attention very much on them that night.

"This will be a chance for Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty region to get in behind a very talented bunch of players as they go head to head with one of the premier women's sports teams on the planet.

"It should be a fun night and one we will pour our energies into."

The winners of the FIBA Oceania Championships will qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Tall Ferns coach Kennedy Kereama sees Tauranga as an ideal venue for his team.

He told FIBA.com: "It's great to be taking one of our games to Tauranga. It is a place that has a passionate basketball community and is rich in culture."

I believe it is a perfect place to make a stand against the Opals and I know the locals will come in force to support us - Kereama

The first legs of both the men's and women's FIBA Oceania Championships will be in Melbourne, Australia, on 15 August.

On paper, the men's showdown looks to be an evenly-matched battle.

Both the Tall Blacks and the Boomers reached the Round of 16 at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The Kiwis very nearly upset Lithuania and reached the Quarter-Finals. They had a terrific overall performance at Spain 2014.

"This will be a great series between two very good teams," Potter said.

"The Australians will feel they have a point to prove after what was for them a disappointing World Championship last year and already many of their overseas and NBA stars are showing a strong willingness to be involved in this series, they are potentially the strongest Australian team we have ever seen play here.

"The Tall Blacks roster will be a strong one though as we see the emergence of a new generation of players competing for court time with the more experienced players who still have so much to offer."

Isaac Fotu, who became a major factor for New Zealand last summer, is part of a new and exciting generation of Tall Black players.

Corey Webster is also now hugely important for the Kiwis.

Just getting into this roster is going to be one hell of a battle - Potter

"I don't envy new Coach Paul Henare one little bit with some of the [squad selection] decisions he will be faced with," Potter said.

Basketball New Zealand have also announced that the Final of the FIBA Oceania U16 Women's Championship will be played before the Tall Ferns/Opals clash, subject to both the Kiwis and Aussies reaching the Final.

Likewise, the plan is for the FIBA U16 Oceania Championship Final to be played before the Tall Blacks take on the Boomers in Wellington.

The FIBA Oceania Championship and the FIBA Oceania Women’s Championship are both played in two-game home-and-away series, with the winners decided according to the head-to-head format. In the event that the teams are tied head-to-head at the end of regulation of the second game, (for example, Australia win Game 1 by five(5) points, New Zealand win Game 2 by five (5) points) extra time will come into play to determine the winners.

FIBA