The Sky Sport Tall Ferns played China tonight in a behind-closed-door scrimmage ahead the of their FIBA women’s Olympic Qualifying series starting Thursday.
The last time the Tall Ferns played China was at the Asia Cup in July, when China won 67-44 and went on to claim silver, losing to Australia by one point. Tonight, the Tall Ferns went down 64-74 in a fast and furious preparation match. Chevannah Paalvast says the Tall Ferns took a lot from the physical encounter, concluding ‘day two’ of their three-day prep.
“We’ve been working hard. It’s been pretty intensive, but the team is gelling well and we are all loving the time together.
“At the Asia Cup in India we really struggled to score against China, but this time around there was a lot more ball movement and people were more aggressive, so I think that translated to the scoreboard. We’re happy with that and looking to take some good form to our first game against the Philippines on Thursday.”
The athletic guard has been a regular for the Tall Ferns since debuting in 2015. She was a member of the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medal winning team and in the same year played alongside Micaela Cocks, Toni Farnworth and Kalani Purcell as they claimed gold at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in China. In fact the bulk of the team have been together for a number of campaigns already and Paalvast says, despite the short Auckland prep, that history adds a big advantage.
“It’s always nice knowing what your teammates like to do, how they like to play and how we can use each other’s strengths. We also get along very well, we are like a family, and everyone is really looking forward to stepping up in front of a home crowd.”
The Olympic Qualifying Tournament will be something of a homecoming for Paalvast. She played much of her junior representative basketball for Waitakere West training and regularly competed at the Trust’s Arena, the venue for this week’s games against China, Korea and the Philippines.
“I pretty much grew up at Trust’s. I was probably playing Under 14’s when Trust’s Arena opened so yes I’ve played lots of basketball in this building,” she said.
Like the other members of the Tall Ferns the opportunity to play international basketball on home courts has been few and far between.
“I remember playing for the Junior Tall Ferns in a FIBA Under 19 Oceania Tournament at Trust’s. We did OK because Australia were there, and they had Liz Cambage and we only lost by nine points,” said Paalvast wryly.
Other than that, Paalvast’s home-based games round out with the 2015 series against Japan and a home tie with Australia. It’s been four long years waiting for another opportunity and Paalvast is planning of making the most of it.
“It’s going to be nice that my friends and family are able to come. My family live about 15 minutes away so that’s nice for them.”
It’s clear the Tall Ferns need to start strong against the Philippines on Thursday, then it just gets tougher with China on Saturday and South Korea on Sunday. Paalvast is under no illusion as to the challenges that lie ahead facing high quality opposition that they recently came up against in India at the Asia Cup.
“We held China to a really low score in the first half in India, but they got away from us in the third quarter,” said Paalvast.
“Our defence holding them was good for us as we are not really a high scoring team, which we are trying to change. I think we can definitely come close to China if not cause an upset.
“We seem to match up quite well against them because they are not all speedy guards, it’s more of a physical battle. They are still quick and they still hit every open shot they get, but it feels as if our forwards match up better with their forwards.
“We lost by six points to Korea (58-52) last time so that’s a game we would really like to get. We didn’t play very well so we know we can improve on that performance for sure.
Paalvast is enjoying the style of play that Tall Ferns Head Coach Guy Molloy has implemented.
“He wants us to move the ball a lot, our goal is to make 320-350 passes per game. He wants us to be quick, up tempo, have more possessions, shoot a lot and score a lot.
“Defensively he wants us in the lanes being super aggressive. We chart passes made and deflections that we get on defense.
“It’s fun, it’s riskier, but it’s the way I like to play.
“That style of play also requires a high level of fitness, which Guy has mentioned to us multiple times. You don’t realise how fit you need to be until you are out on the court in a game and you are dying!”
So the entertainment factor will be high with this exciting style of hoops on display in Henderson this week. Paalvast has a simple message for New Zealand basketball fans.
“Get a ticket and come. It’s not often you get the chance to watch elite women’s basketball live in New Zealand and I think this event will be one for the books.”
More information: Women’s Olympic Qualifying Series in Auckland
Schedule: Day Tickets start from only $8.50 (two games per day):
• Thurs 14 Nov, 5pm. KOREA V CHINA
• Thurs 14 Nov, 7:30pm. NEW ZEALAND V PHILIPPINES
• Sat 16 Nov, 3pm. PHILIPPINES V KOREA
• Sat 16 Nov, 5:30pm. CHINA V NEW ZEALAND
• Sun 17 Nov, 3pm. PHILIPPINES V CHINA
• Sun 17 Nov, 5:30pm. KOREA V NEW ZEALAND
Venue: The Trust’s Arena, Auckland
Tickets: on at Ticketek.co.nz
Follow: @TallFerns on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Hashtags: #TallFerns #GirlsGotGame
Watch: Live broadcast on Sky Sport
Website: www.TallFerns.basketball
Event website: http://www.fiba.basketball/pre-oqtwomen/asia/2019/
