Tall Blacks to play in Europe, Asia, before showdown with Boomers

AUCKLAND (2015 FIBA Oceania Championship) - New Zealand will square off against opponents from Europe, Asia and the Americas as part of their preparations for the FIBA Oceania Championship in August.

The Tall Blacks will face Australia's Boomers 15 August in Melbourne and 18 August in Wellington, with the winner of the tie to clinch a spot in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Australia have won five of the last six FIBA Oceania Championships, dating back to 2003.

Both teams made it to the Round of 16 at last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

To get ready for this year's series, the New Zealanders will gather for trials 8-10 July in Auckland and new head coach Paul Henare, after reducing the squad to 14 players, will hold a week-long training camp.

The Kiwis will leave for Europe on 20 July and take on Great Britain (25 July), Croatia in (29 July) and Slovenia (30).

They will also travel to the Far East to take part in the Stankovic Cup against hosts China, Mexico and Venezuela (3-8 August) before returning home for one last training camp (11-13 August) in Auckland.

The first game in the FIBA Oceania Championship will be played in Melbourne, Australia, and the second clash will be played in Wellington, New Zealand.

Henare, who has taken over from long-time coach Nenad Vucinic, said: "This will be an intense six-week time in which we will prepare ourselves to be at our best to face Australia.

"We know what a task that will be against an NBA-laden Boomer roster so to get games against quality opposition in hostile environments was vital."

Three of their friendly opponents are just behind Australia in the FIBA bwin World Ranking Men.

"Croatia (12), Slovenia (13) and China (14) are all of a quality similar to Australia (11) and importantly we will play them in their home gyms with a fanatical home environment testing our resolve as much as the opposition," Henare said.

Pero, Ross and I are going to have some late nights in making our final selection decisions. - Henare

The new coach will be assisted by Pero Cameron and Ross McMains.

"There is so much work to do and so much that will play out before we even hit the road," Henare said.

"Competition to get into this team will be incredibly strong, with depth in most if not all positions.

"The selection trial and subsequent camp will set the standards we expect everyone to live up to in the games that will follow."

New Zealand are coming off an impressive FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, where they rebounded from three defeats at the start of the tournament to advance to the next stage of the competition.

The Tall Blacks pushed Lithuania, No. 4 in the FIBA bwin Ranking Men, until the very end in the Round of 16.

New Zealand have yet to announce if they will have Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams for the FIBA Oceania Championship but even without him, they are going to be a handful for the Boomers.

The side that wins the FIBA Oceania Championship will qualify for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

"The program we have put in place will give Paul and the team the preparation they need to be at their best in what is a vital Oceania Series against Australia, with Olympic qualification on the line," Basketball New Zealand CEO Iain Potter said.

"As always, we have to balance the perfect preparation against the resources available but such is the Tall Blacks reputation on the world stage that we have been able to take up a number of invites against world class opposition and pull together an exciting series of games."

FIBA