Basketball: Parting victory fails to satisfy Baldwin

By PETER JESSUP

The Tall Blacks came back from China with one of the results they wanted - an improvement in team play and a first-ever win over the host country, but their focus is improvement.

Coach Tab Baldwin's quote after test one of three, lost 89-74 in Lushan, was that the Chinese were beatable.

They lost 111-101 in Wenzhou before proving Baldwin right, taking the third game 100-85 in Quinhangdao.

The only downside for New Zealand was that captain Pero Cameron strained a calf muscle and will take until the Hungarians' arrival for their five-test tour to recover. Even then, his match fitness is in question.

Cameron left on tour carrying the injury. He had a slow game one, was outstanding in game two as he marked the Chinese Walking Wall, and pulled out after the third quarter of the final test, unable to continue.

"We'd asked him at 1.98m to mark guys who were 2.28m and he did a masterful job," Baldwin said.

There were no other injury problems, and the coach will welcome sharp-shooting guard Mark Dickel back to the camp before the Hungary visit. He also expects forward Tony Rampton to have recovered from foot surgery and is hopeful forward/guard Sean Marks will also be cleared after wrist surgery.

The conditions in China were adverse: the food, heat, vast travel distances, parochial crowds and home-town referees giving the Tall Blacks a short, sharp immersion in a similar situation to that they'll face in August as they tour Europe and Canada before going to Indianapolis for the world championships.

Others to go well in China were point guards Dickel and Paul Henare.

Phill Jones shot well from long-range. Judd Flavell and Damon Rampton made the impact wanted from the bench.

The next camp starts in Auckland on June 30, and the first test against Hungary is on July 5. Cameron will probably have to play an NBL game, or even an Auckland club game, to sharpen up.

The Tall Blacks did not shoot well in China, improving from an average 30 per cent to about 40, but Baldwin said that was no concern.

He wanted to work on inside and outside options.

"We have to go at people, we can't sit back and shoot long-range all the time. We have to be diverse. We can't be all-inside or all-outside, we have to make ourselves dangerous by being able to go either way, at the right time."

Their offence was maturing, Baldwin said. He was more concerned to get that working than to improve the shooting percentage.

"Shooting [at the world champs] may be hard all round. The quality of your shooting is determined by the quality of the offence and that's where we have to build."

Baldwin's attitude was flat. He wasn't satisfied, despite the groundbreaking victory, despite the cramped nature of the tour, despite depletion of the team through injuries. It's going to be a big ask at the world champs too.