Basketball: Tall Blacks fans left fuming after Māori Television technical difficulties

Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare. Photo / FIBA.Basketball

New Zealand basketball fans were left fuming after technical difficulties on Māori Television left them unable to watch the start of the Tall Blacks' must-win World Cup game against Greece.

The game was meant to start at midnight on Māori Television, but fans tuning in to watch the Tall Blacks' most important game in five years were greeted by a blank screen, leading to plenty of complaints on social media.

Kiwi fans missing the first quarter of the NZ Greece game right now because of an error with Maori TV who have the rights. Disaster.

— andrewbprice (@andrewbprice) September 5, 2019

@maoritv Your stream not working.

— Tipene Friday (@tipfriday) September 5, 2019

The technical difficulties were eventually fixed halfway through the first quarter, with fans missing out on seeing the Tall Blacks take an early lead, but there initially was no commentary, and their promised live stream online never materialised.

Those who were unable to watch missed the Tall Blacks putting up a fight against the World No 8 Greeks, before eventually falling 103-97 after a superb performance from NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Tall Blacks will now take on Turkey and Japan in the consolation bracket, with their only potential prize locking in a spot at the Olympic qualifying tournament.