Basketball: Tall Blacks get only one Olympic shot

By Peter Jessup

The Tall Blacks have a unique chance to join the top 11 basketballing nations in the Olympics next September if they can beat the United States dependency of Guam in a one-off qualifier at the weekend.

But little is known about the Guam team other than that they think they can win and earn the one Oceania qualifier for Sydney 2000 at the North Shore Events Centre on Saturday night.

Normally, one team from Oceania go through to the Olympics and usually Australia are that team. But they gain automatic entry as games hosts, so the other Oceania group teams play for the spot.

In this case, though, Fiji, Samoa and American Samoa have withdrawn, meaning Saturday's game is a one-off, sudden-death eliminator.

The Tall Blacks are training at the North Shore Events Centre daily, and coach Keith Mair's has some concerns about the bumps and bruises tough workouts have produced, but conversely, is satisfied the squad are focused.

"Normally we have everything to play for and nothing to lose and this game is completely the other way around - everything to lose - so coping with that will be interesting," Mair said.

The time off since the national league season ended had shown in training but he hoped the intense sessions would have the team sharp by 8pm on Saturday.

Guam have had one prospect ruled out through nationality clauses and look to drop another, but Mair is unconcerned.

"Everyone's had the rulebook regarding eligibility for years," he said.

But there will undoubtedly be players with United States college and second-division experience who qualify for Guam because they were born to United States military personnel stationed there.

Mair expects a size advantage but is wary the Guam game might mirror the style of Asian neighbours - moving the ball quickly up and down the court, penetrating the circle on the dribble then firing the ball back to a clear outside shooter.

New Zealand captain Pero Cameron returns from his England club Chester Jets today and Mair will then whittle the 14 in the squad down 10.

Not considered for the Guam game were Sean Marks, Paul Henare, Kirk Penney, Mark Dickel and Michael Tompson, all of whom are playing in the United States, Phill Jones, who is in Greece and Ralph Lattimore, injured.

Western Samoa's withdrawal stymied what could have been an interesting coaching match-up: Auckland's four-times national championship-winning coach Tab Baldwin, twice rejected for the Tall Black job, was asked to take the Samoans and was considering the job.

Tall Blacks squad: Pero Cameron (c), Dillon Boucher (Auckland), Brendon Cathie-Pongia, Andrew Parke (North Harbour), Kent Mori, Tony Rampton (New Plymouth), Chris Tupu, Andrew Gardiner (Wellington), Peter Pokai, Judd Flavell, Brad Riley (Nelson), David Langrell, Robert Hockey (Canterbury), Glen Denham (Otago).