New Zealand national basketball team vs Lebanon FIBA Turkey 2010

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The New Zealand national basketball team represents New Zealand in international basketball competitions. It is nicknamed the Tall Blacks, derived from the name of New Zealand's Rugby union team, the All Blacks.

[edit]History

The Tall Blacks competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and finished with a 1-5 record, their only win coming against Angola in the playoff for eleventh.

In 2001 they defeated Australia in a three-game series to qualify for the 2002FIBA World Championships in Indianapolis. At the tournament they finished fourth, after beating Puerto Rico in the quarter-finals before losses to Serbia and Montenegro and Germany. Tall Blacks captain Pero Cameron was the only non-NBA player named to the all-tournament team in Indianapolis.

The Tall Blacks qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics but again finished with a 1-5 record and lost to Australia in the playoff for ninth place. Their most noted moment was on the 7th day of the games, when they beat Serbia and Montenegro (the world champions) 90-87.

The Tall Blacks went on a South-American tour in 2006 as a lead up to the FIBA Basketball World Championships. They played Argentina (Olympic Champions and runners up in 2002 FIBA Championships), Brazil and Venezuela. They played four games against each country. The Tall Blacks got swept by Argentina and Brazil. They only managed one win against Venezuela but still lost the series 3-1.

[edit]2006 FIBA World Championships

In 2006, a few months before the FIBA world championships, the Tall Blacks took on the Australian Boomers in a post-tournament 4 game series. The Tall Blacks won a 2 game tie by points difference. The Tall Blacks also swept Qatar in a 2 game match up post tournament as well.

In 2006, the Tall Blacks were not to repeat their fourth-place finish as in 2002. Instead, they finished in the final 16 of the FIBA Basketball World Championships, after a second round loss to Argentina, 79-62, which knocked them out of the tournament.

After that disappointment, Tab Baldwin resigned as the coach of the Tall Blacks and was replaced by Nenad Vučinić, his long time assistant coach. The Tall Blacks just managed to make it to the final 16 as they were beaten by Spain, 86-70, (New 2006 FIBA World Champions), Germany, 80-56, and Angola, 95-73. Their only wins were over Panama, 86-75, and Japan, 60-57.

The Tall Blacks 'fourth place' spot went to Argentina, the team who knocked them out, and swept them in the post tournament series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_national_basketball_team

Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. SG 4 Tait, Lindsay 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 93 kg (205 lb) PG 5 Fitchett, Mike 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 85 kg (187 lb) SG 6 Penney, Kirk (C) 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 100 kg (220 lb) PF 7 Vukona, Mika 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 113 kg (249 lb) SF 8 Henry, Leon 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 96 kg (212 lb) PG 9 Webster, Corey 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 91 kg (201 lb) PF 10 Frank, Casey 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 98 kg (216 lb) C 11 Pledger, Alex 2.14 m (7 ft 0 in) 113 kg (249 lb) SF 12 Abercrombie, Thomas 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 87 kg (192 lb) PG 13 Kenney, Jarod 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 86 kg (190 lb) C 14 Loe, Rob 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) 104 kg (229 lb) PF 15 Anthony, B. J. 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 102 kg (225 lb) SF -- Cameron, Pero 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 109 kg (240 lb) PF -- Bradshaw, Craig 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 102 kg (225 lb) PF -- Trueman, Jeremiah 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 95 kg (209 lb)

New Zealand
FIBA Ranking	13th
Joined FIBA	1951
FIBA Zone	FIBA Oceania
National Federation	Basketball New Zealand
Coach	Nenad Vučinić
Nickname(s)	Tall Blacks
Olympic Games
Appearances	2
Medals	None
World Championships
Appearances	3
Medals	None
Oceania Championships
Appearances	19
Medals	Gold: 1999, 2001, 2009 Silver: 1971, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007