Boomers touch down in NZ ahead of Oceania Champs

Australia has touched down in Auckland ahead of this week’s Oceania Championships against New Zealand to decide which nation takes top seeding from the Oceania zone into next year’s FIBA World Championships.

Unlike four years ago, when a win in this series gave New Zealand Oceania’s one and only ticket to the US World Championship tournament, this year’s qualification will determine seeding only, with both teams guaranteed a spot, thanks to FIBA increasing the number of participating teams from 16 to 24.

Tall Black coach Tab Baldwin knows the importance of taking that prize into the expanded championship format.

“Australia definitely got a better draw in Athens by winning the qualification series,” he said after returning from a coaching stint in Turkey in two months ago.

“I don’t want to go to the world championships being number two seed from Oceania. That would put us way down the pecking order in a 24-team competition, whereas finishing first in Oceania would put us in a good position.”

Boomers coach, Brian Goorjian, is also stressing the importance of a series win to his team, with Matt Nielsen and Glen Saville remembering the bitter taste of defeat four years ago. Goorjian’s team is not nearly as experienced as Baldwin’s, but after three international tournaments in the past month, and adding 2004/05 All-Star Brad Newley, Goorjian is confident his team will have what it takes to take the three match series against New Zealand.

Australia and New Zealand are currently at different stages in their team development. The Tall Blacks are a “now” team. The nucleus of the squad that reached the 2002 world championship semifinals – specifically captain Pero Cameron, shooter Phill Jones and point guard Mark Dickel – has been together almost a decade and may not last much beyond the next championships before retirements begin to take their toll.

Australia’s roster features just five players from last year’s Olympics – guards CJ Bruton and Jason Smith, forwards Glen Saville and Matt Nielsen, and centre David Andersen. The seven new players have come from a large talent pool in the Philips Championship NBL as well as players who are plying their trade in Europe or getting a career start in the American college system.

There is more than enough talent in the Australian system to sustain their place among the world’s elite teams – the Crocs finished fourth at the world junior championship this week and centre Andrew Bogut was the top pick in this year’s NBA draft.

But the Bruton/Smith/Saville/Nielsen/Andersen quintet has been entrusted with the caretaker’s job while the rookies get up to speed.

New Zealand coach Tab Baldwin, never one to lavish undeserved praise, had this to say about his rival.

“There is such great depth here in Australia. They are a good team and Goorjian is an excellent coach, who gets them to play great basketball.”

Because the rivals’ respective styles – both on and off the court – are so similar, their encounters can be brutal, with neither prepared to take a backward step.

Goorjian has made one change from the Boomers roster that won the just-completed 4-Nations Tournament in Perth and Sydney. Perth forward Peter Crawford makes way for Aussie junior star Brad Newley, returning straight from a team leading performance at the world championships.

The only selection issues facing Baldwin heading into the Oceania series are injury-related. He will assess whether point guard Paul Henare has sufficiently recovered from his badly bruised thigh to contend for a spot, while the injured back that kept Kirk Penney out of Sunday’s game against Lithuania will also come under scrutiny.

Indications are New Zealand will field the same 12 players that toured Australia last week.

The Boomers and Tall Blacks provided a taste of things to come last Friday when the Aussies took out a hard-fought 84-74 victory. After falling 15 points behind in the first quarter, the Tall Blacks battled back to twice draw even, 49-49 in the third period and 62-62 early in the fourth.

Bruton provided a timely reminder just how dangerous he can be if given space, leading all scorers with 32 points, while Nielsen dominated inside with 20 points.

“Losing to Australia was difficult to take, but hopefully it was a good lesson for us as we move on to the Jeep Oceania Championship,” said Baldwin. “It’s not always the worst thing to lose to an opponent before playing them in a big game.”

With the Philips Championships season looming in the coming weeks and European preseason tipping off early next month, this series is the last time the Boomers will play together before the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

The Boomers have an intense six days ahead of them, with three matches in three different cities. Match schedule follows:

Boomers team:

2005 Jeep Oceania Men's Championships:
New Zealand vs Australia

Wednesday, August 17 – Trust Stadium, Waitakere, 7:30pm*

Saturday, August 20 – Telstra Clear Pacific Events, Manukau 3:00pm*

Sunday, August 21 – Edgar Centre, Dunedin, 3:00pm*

*New Zealand is two hours ahead of Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Note: All start times are local.