Kiwi Olympians: Pero Cameron

By PETER JESSUP

Pero Cameron will be a modern-day David when he leads New Zealand's Tall Blacks against Goliath-sized opponents like the United States "Dream Team" next month.

But he is far from overawed. Paying too much respect has been a problem for a number of national squads, he believes.

"It's a Polynesian thing to have your head down to show respect. That's great, having that respect, but we need to harness it differently."

With his mother, Mata, part-Maori and part-Niuean, and his father of Scots descent, Cameron is perfectly qualified to make that call.

As leader of a squad beaten late in three games against Russia, the world No 2, and the top 10-ranked Canadians and Australians in an Olympic buildup tournament in Sydney, he can see clear room for improvement.

The other sides will get better too, he knows, but he does not accept that the Tall Blacks are on a hiding to nothing at the Sydney Olympics.

"There was a time when we just wanted to be competitive. Now we want to give ourselves a chance to win," says the veteran, who is approaching 90 games for the team, and is still only 26.

"We're up against it, no question. But we have guys in the squad who can't still believe how good they are."

He cites North Harbour's teenage shooting star Kirk Penney and Phill Jones, of Nelson, as two.

"We pushed everyone in Sydney because we played simple, structured ball. We made them play us despite the size difference."

Verging on 2m, Cameron is one of the biggest Tall Blacks, with only Tony Rampton (2.1m) and Sean Marks (2.3m) bigger. Marks would look small in any of the other Olympic-qualified sides.

"We were looking around [on court in Sydney] just saying, 'I can't believe how tall these guys are'," he said of the four-way tournament.

The Kiwis went down 52-64 to Russia, 52-71 to Australia and 46-63 to Canada. Fitness clearly told, and Cameron is the first to admit that he and others have work to do there.

An imposing block in centre-court, Cameron is widely recognised as the most talented allrounder in the national league. If there is one common criticism it is his weight - fair comment at times, he admits, though those who consider him oversized are always amazed at the athleticism that comes with it.

He has lost 6kg since returning from an off-season stint with the Chester Jets in London, "and I could drop another 10kg. I hope it makes me hungrier."

McDonald's food used to be almost daily nutrition; now it is out altogether.

Cameron was a passable lock/No 8 at Whangarei Boys High before he crossed to the game his mum coached, making Northland rep teams from the age of 14 and national age-group teams from 17.

He began his paid career with Waikato at 20, made the Tall Blacks that year, and has been no mean part of defending champions Auckland's five national championship titles since shifting north.

He has played for the Perak Eagles in the Malaysian league, will return to Chester in the NZ summer, taking training partner Jenelle, 16-month-old Tobias and a newborn brother, and is keen to be part of the planned NZ team in the Australian league as he forges a pro career.

Cameron has been working at the Unitec gym in Mt Albert, making use of qualifications he gained there in sports science and sports management as a quiet achiever. That is special in this country - you would never get near the captain of the United States team.

Tomorrow he will join the Tall Blacks squad at the first of four training camps in Nelson.

Netballer Waimarama Taumaunu can take some credit for focusing Cameron's Olympic goal. He and a Northland mate, Judd Flavell, applied to the Hillary Commission for sports grants when selected for teenage rep teams - his size-15 court shoes cost $200-plus and the $500 on offer was a big attraction.

Taumaunu processed the applications, returning Cameron's with a note to ask what his goals were. "Playing for New Zealand at the Olympics" he wrote back.

Ten years later, he still has to pinch himself to believe that it has all come true: "My next goal is to get a medal - but that's more of a dream than a goal."

New Zealand face Lithuania, France, Poland, the US and China in their playoff pool in Sydney. On the other side of the draw are hosts Australia, Canada, Italy and Angola, Spain and Yugoslavia.

The improvement in the national side can be measured by the invitations they are now receiving to tournaments, including Haarlem in the Netherlands and the William Jones Cup in Taiwan - which they won last month - and by single victories over China and Canada in test series in the past two years, but they are the minnows of the Games.

"We could do with more international competition, particularly in Europe," Cameron says.

He cites what they learned in Sydney last month: the Russians had agility and discipline to go with their size, the Canadians were great shooters of the ball, the Aussies had a mental toughness the Kiwis need to develop.

A tour by England last month and the William Jones Cup win in Taiwan offered good buildup. The Tall Blacks go to Sydney for pre-Games matches on September 10.



Harbour's Penney and Auckland point guard Paul Henare have both had stints in the US in the off-season, and Cameron rated the enthusiasm and positive approach they and recently returned guard Mark Dickel will bring in Sydney as another plus.

"We have to push ourselves to the limit, and to do that we need to push each other, to get on each other's back when we mess up."

Teamwork will be crucial in Sydney.

Cameron says the world's scouts will be in the audience and all 12 playing there will know they have the chance to set themselves up for a pro career - but that must go to the back of the mind.

"I hope the way we impress is as a team. We've always put a big value on team performance. The team performance and our results have been getting better, and they wouldn't have been if we weren't all pulling together."

The Tall Blacks got to Sydney through the back door. Australia elected to go in as hosts, leaving New Zealand as favourites for the Oceania qualifying spot.

There were some concerns that American Samoa and others would stack teams with players with experience in the United States, but that did not happen, and NZ thrashed Guam 125-43 in front of a crowd of around 200 at the North Shore Events centre last year to win.

It will be a different story in September. The Homebush arena seats around 11,000 and is expected to be sold out. The world will be watching, with basketball said to be overtaking soccer as the globe's most-played game. Cameron is not the least bit daunted.

"I can't wait to get out there, to see how good we can really be."

And the only thing he wants first?

"I wish I could get taller."

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