The National Maori basketball team will be taking on the Apunipima Australian Indigenous Basketball team in a three game trans-Tasman series, starting tomorrow in Gisborne. Game two will be in Te Awamutu and the third in Tauranga. Head of Maori Basketball, Willy Taurima, says the Australians are the favourites due to the team being the defending champions and featuring some players, which will be led by ANBL veteran Tyson Demos (191-G-88). 'It certainly won't be a whitewash. They have a few stars and we are missing a few guys due their obligations with the Breakers, but we've recruited enough experience to really have a crack at bringing the title back home to New Zealand.' The New Zealand Maori team that's been named boasts two recently retired Tall Blacks, nine NZ NBL current players, and eight former NZ Junior Tall Blacks. Taurima says there is a great rivalry building between the two teams. The last two events were highly competitive, with both nations holding a title each. 'This is the third year in the event's history. The first year was in 2014 when it was a two game series. It resulted in a draw at one win each, but New Zealand Maori won the title on point differential. The second year, in 2015, we lost two games to one. All three of those games went down to the wire, with about five points in it.' This year the event is being taken on the road to towns that Taurima says has a proud Maori representation in their communities. 'We wanted to widen the opportunity for people to see international basketball. And these will be great games with that good old Australian/New Zealand rivalry.' Courtesy of: basketball.org.nz
NZ Breakers' coach Paul Henare slams team's performance in 39-point loss - 1 day ago
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NZ Breakers coach Paul Henare would like to make a public apology to the people of Taranaki for his side's performance against Melbourne United on Tuesday night. New Plymouth's TSB Stadium hosted an Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) pre-season game between the two sides, with Melbourne cruising to a 101-62 win. While he said earlier in the week that the result wasn't their top priority, after the match Henare said the way the team played was a huge concern. "That was unacceptab... [read more]
NZ Breakers coach Paul Henare would like to make a public apology to the people of Taranaki for his side's performance against Melbourne United on Tuesday night. New Plymouth's TSB Stadium hosted an Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) pre-season game between the two sides, with Melbourne cruising to a 101-62 win. While he said earlier in the week that the result wasn't their top priority, after the match Henare said the way the team played was a huge concern. "That was unacceptable, and hopefully this team never puts anything close to that on the floor again," he said. The Breakers came into the game after beating Melbourne in Napier on Sunday, but were no match for the league favourites this time around. "Melbourne played well tonight, they came out and made some change defensively and they got after it. But in terms of us turning up, not one of us did and that's a real shame considering the good support we've had here." Led by import guard Casper Ware (178-PG-90, college: Long Beach St.) and big man Josh Boone (208-F/C-84, college: Connecticut), the visitors were a step ahead of the Breakers for much of the game to take a convincing, and rare, victory on New Zealand soil. Boone opened the scoring going 1-2 from the charity stripe after Vukona's first foul, however a hot start from Breakers import guards Edgar Sosa (190-PG-88, college: Louisville) and D.J. Newbill (193-G-92, college: Penn St.) putting the home side ahead. It didn't last long though, as Melbourne were able to claim a number of second chance points on largely uncontested offensive rebounds - much to Henare's dismay. From there, it was one-way traffic as the Breakers slumped to a 39-point thrashing. "We got schooled, and hopefully these guys remember that." The Kiwi side were only able to convert on 29 per cent of their shots, had twice as many turnovers as Melbourne, with the visitors also posting 20 more assists than their hosts. Henare said there was not a single positive to take out of Tuesday's game, aside from being able to take the team to a different part of the country. "Maybe the one good thing is that we got our a*** kicked and it is the pre-season. We've got an opportunity to turn a few things around, but they'll be hurting." The Breakers will now look to sort themselves out before their final pre-season game in Tauranga against the Brisbane Bullets on September 27. Their first game of the ANBL season is against the Cairns Taipans in Auckland on October 8. Courtesy of: stuff.co.nz
Kevin Braswell will be back at the Wellington Saints next season, provided he has a team to coach. Saints owner Nick Mills confirmed on Thursday the 38-year-old American had re-signed on a two-year deal, with an option for both parties to get out after one season if they wanted to. Braswell guided the Saints to back-to-back National Basketball League titles in his first two seasons in charge, including a perfect 20-0 season this year. But Mills has been left miffed by a proposed rule chan... [read more]
Kevin Braswell will be back at the Wellington Saints next season, provided he has a team to coach. Saints owner Nick Mills confirmed on Thursday the 38-year-old American had re-signed on a two-year deal, with an option for both parties to get out after one season if they wanted to. Braswell guided the Saints to back-to-back National Basketball League titles in his first two seasons in charge, including a perfect 20-0 season this year. But Mills has been left miffed by a proposed rule change which could see the number of imports increased from two to three. That would be contingent on the Oceania rule - which allowed one player from the Oceania confederation to play as a local - being scrapped, but Mills said he would have to re-evaluate his association with the league, which dates back to 1982, if the three import rule was put in place. "We're all about Kiwis playing and we feel that the new rule - they haven't made a decision yet, but they are looking at it - would be against what our ethos is." Having three imports would run counter to what the league should be about: the promotion and development of New Zealand players. "That's where we believe the league should be. You look at the two top teams, us and Southland, and then you look at this young Tall Blacks team performing so well at the Asia Cup. Shea Ili has developed with us and it's that sort of thing that we stand for." Ili has led the Tall Blacks to the Asia Cup quarterfinals, where they will meet Jordan on Friday morning (NZ time). Their roster was almost exclusively comprised of NBL players. Mills said it would be a "wait and see situation" now with regards to how he moved forward. While anything was possible, it was very hard to see the Saints not playing in the league because of the rule. Outside of the uncertainty around the potential rule change, it has been a positive week for Mills and the Saints. As well as the signing of Braswell, a meeting with Wellington mayor Justin Lester went well. "We had a very good meeting with the mayor and discussed our issues with him," Mills said. Those issues hark back to the decision to remove ratepayer funding for the Saints in early 2016, which at the time was reported to be about $25,000 per year. "He hasn't promised us anything, but it was a good, in-depth meeting and he understood the issues that we are dealing with and was as positive as he could be to make sure it keeps going. It was a very open and honest discussion." The NBL will start later next year, in late April, to accommodate the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, which runs from April 4-15. Courtesy of: stuff.co.nz
Wisconsin Badgers defeat NZ Breakers squad 85-75 in tour opener - 1 month ago
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Wisconsin got off to a winning start on its five-game trip to New Zealand and Australia on Tuesday, beating an NZ Breakers squad 85-75. The Badgers were tied 57-57 after three quarters but pulled away to win the first of their two games in New Zealand. Wisconsin, the alma mater of current Breakers shooting guard Kirk Penney, will next play a Breakers selection in Tauranga on Thursday before playing three games in Australia on the 12-day trip. Sophomore Brevin Pritzl (6'3''-G) led Wisconsi... [read more]
Wisconsin got off to a winning start on its five-game trip to New Zealand and Australia on Tuesday, beating an NZ Breakers squad 85-75. The Badgers were tied 57-57 after three quarters but pulled away to win the first of their two games in New Zealand. Wisconsin, the alma mater of current Breakers shooting guard Kirk Penney, will next play a Breakers selection in Tauranga on Thursday before playing three games in Australia on the 12-day trip. Sophomore Brevin Pritzl (6'3''-G) led Wisconsin with 27 points, while Ethan Happ (6'9''-F-96) added 17. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard used Brevin Pritzl, Happ, D'Mitrik Trice, Khalil Iverson (6'5''-G/F) and Alex Illikainen (6'9''-F) in a new-look starting formation. The team is building a new frontline around Happ following the departure of big men Nigel Hayes and Vitto Brown. The NCAA allows teams to make exhibition tours overseas every four years. Wisconsin's last overseas trip, to Canada in 2013 when it was also replacing much of its starting lineup, preceded the first of its back-to-back Final Four appearances. The Breakers have won the Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) in four of the last seven years. Meanwhile, the Breakers will face the Cairns Taipans, Perth Wildcats and Adelaide 36ers during the ANBL's Blitz preseason tournament from September 7-10 in Victoria. The Breakers will meet the Taipans and September 7 and Wildcats on September 9 at the Traralgon Basketball Centre in the Latrobe Valley, east of Melbourne, then the 36ers on September 10 in Whittlesea, north of Melbourne. "This will be an early hit out for us, with just over a week and a half together but while it might be a touch early for us in our preparation it is a good chance to bond together on the road as much as it is a chance to work on court," head coach Paul Henare said. The Breakers are close to confirming a preseason tour in New Zealand, with the announcement due in the next week. Courtesy of: stuff.co.nz
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