The Tall Blacks are no strangers to ‘doing it tough’, something not uncommon to New Zealand sporting teams and individuals throughout a sporting history littered with success stories borne of the back of adversity and overcoming the odds.
And so it continues for the current generation of players wearing the silver fern with a mix of pride and humility that has been built up over many years of success and some might say ‘over achieving on the world stage’, in recent history under coaches Tab Baldwin and latterly Nenad Vucinic and now very much being continued under the new coaching team led by Paul Henare.
Back to back games in Croatia and Slovenia were separated only by a 6 hour cross border bus ride and on both occasions the Tall Blacks gave every bit as good as they got, losing to Croatia on a buzzer beating three and leading for the majority of the clash with Slovenia before the hosts got the better of them.
Time to recover you might think? Think again. When budgets are tight and funding limited in the extreme you have to make the most of the time you have together and the opportunities presented to play international ball. The Tall Blacks instead spent 27 hours straight travelling to their next assignment in China. On bus and plane Via Zagreb, Paris and Hong Kong the team wound its way to the Qingyuan City in the Guangdong Province, the location for the 2015 Stankovic Cup.
Of such journeys great teams and cultures can emerge, with a spirit and of togetherness that only time spent on the road can engender, and yet the team must guard against fatigue knowing that the big goal lies still two weeks away with the Oceania Series against Australia the only games that ‘matter’ to the Tall Blacks of 2015 as they aim up for a spot at the Rio Olympic Games next year.
Head coach Paul Henare says it is a fine balance but one they know and understand well.
“We are well used to utilizing limited resources to get the best out our programmes and our players. This is nothing new and I’m sure it will remain the same in the future – even if our level of resourcing goes up, we will still be clever about how we use it to get maximum benefit every time this team comes together.
“The word culture is used a lot when talking about the Tall Blacks, I’m not sure you can easily describe it in words but perhaps the best way is to think of us as being no different to many New Zealand families. We stay in touch throughout the year and come together once a year to renew bonds and in some cases introduce new members of the family to carry our traditions and our history forward. That has been a focus on this tour with former players and coaches invited to meet with and address the team.
“And often the best way to understand your potential and the support you will receive from those around you is to experience adversity, to be put under pressure, to know what it is to rely on the person next to you when you need a helping hand. All of which is only going to help us when it comes time to face Aussie next month. If you know your team mates have your back and trust in your systems and ability to deliver in any circumstance, you fear no one.”
That is not to say Basketball New Zealand is not committed to giving the Tall Blacks the best possible preparation for the Oceania Series. This tour has included games against Great Britain, Croatia and Slovenia and this week’s Stankovic Cup presents games against Venezuela, Mexico and hosts China, a schedule that promises to have the team game ready and physically ready for the NBA laden Boomers.
The team will at least enjoy a ‘recovery’ day on Sunday local time. The late Saturday night arrival to the tournament hotel means a recovery session is planned for Sunday morning before the one and only full training session is held later that afternoon, before games are played on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (play-off games).
Henare says with each training session and game played, the team is honing in on the Aussies.
“Two weeks might sound like a long time but in terms of training sessions and games we don’t have much to play with. We have laid a strong foundation in the time we have been together, the Stankovic games here in China are now very much about fine tuning and imagining the opposition wearing green and gold each time we play a game.”
The team will then complete their overseas preparation, returning home for three days of workouts before travelling to Melbourne on August 13 for the first game at Rod Laver Arena on the 15th and then the return leg in Wellington on August 15.
Tall Blacks at the Stankovic Cup
Qingyuan, China
(all times NZ)
Monday 3 August v Venezuela, 8pm
Tuesday 4 August v Mexico, 8pm
Wednesday 5 August Rest Day
Thursday 6 August v China, 11pm
Friday 7 August Play Off Games
