CARACAS (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) – When it comes to draws for international basketball events, national team players and their fans need to be careful what they wish for. Very often, what may look to be favorable match-ups end up being bad ones.

On Tuesday night in Caracas, Venezuela, where the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament is to be staged from 2-8 July, 12 teams were drawn into four groups.

Only three of those sides will advance to the London Games.

Nine teams have secured their spots in London.

They are hosts Great Britain, world champions Team USA, Tunisia, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, China, Spain and France.

In Group A are Greece, Jordan and Puerto Rico while Lithuania, Nigeria and Venezuelaare in Group B.

The Dominican Republic, Korea and Russia are in Group C and in Group D are Angola,F.Y.R. of Macedonia and New Zealand.

One way to determine favorites would be to look at the FIBA World Rankings.

In that case, Greece (4th), Lithuania (5th) and Russia (11th) would appear to have the best shot of moving on to London.

There are a lot of variables to take on board, though.

While European teams – Greece, Croatia and Germany – took the three spots on offer at the 2008 qualifying event, they were all playing close to home in Athens.

This year’s tournament is in South America.

How will playing on a different continent and the travel that is required impact the non-Americas teams?

Player availability, and the coaching situations of some national teams like the Dominican Republic who have yet to confirm who will lead the team, have a major impact.

Europeans may be in strong positions

On the face of it, Russia appear to have the most straight forward path to the Semi-Finals.

Even if Al Horford recovers from the torn pectoral muscle he suffered in January while playing for the Atlanta Hawks and returns to full strength for the Dominicans, the Russians have a lot of things in their favor.

They have continuity with coach David Blatt and many solid players who have gained experience the past few years at EuroBaskets 2009 and 2011, and the 1010 World Championship.

Andrey Kirilenko, who scores, rebounds, plays defense and most importantly leads – maybe the best all-rounder in the sport – also returned to the fold last year and made a huge difference as he earned a spot on the all-tournament team in Lithuania.

Russia look to be big favorites to finish top of Group C while the Dominicans are a mystery.

There is the coaching situation that is still to be resolved with last year’s boss, John Calipari, not confirmed to be coming back, and the injury question mark hovering over big man Horford.

Despite doing well at the last two FIBA Americas Championships, the Dominicans will be facing teams outside their zone.

They could struggle against Korea’s style of play.

Being in the Americas and having NBA-talent in the squad suggests the Dominicans should finish second.

A very level Group D

The team that will be next up for the Russians in the do-or-die Quarter-Finals is anybody’s guess.

Angola, who were dethroned as African champions by Tunisia, and Oceania runners-up New Zealand also have a lot of experience in international games.

There are a lot of Tall Blacks competing for the New Zealand Breakers, which helps the players know each other and their tendencies, while scoring machine Kirk Penney is excelling in Spain’s Liga Endesa with Fuenlabrada.

Most of the Angolans compete in their country’s top flight but it remains to be seen who will coach the team.

If F.Y.R. of Macedonia take the side that finished fourth at the EuroBasket, Marin Dokuzovski’s troops should be the team to beat – especially with EuroBasket all-tournament team selection Bo McCalebb, the continued emergence of twins Vojdan andDamjan Stojanovski, the presence of Pero Antic and the steady play of point guard Vlado Ilievski.

Should the Macedonians finish top of Group D, then Russia will like their chances of beating the second-place team, either New Zealand or Angola, to reach the Semi-Finals.

The Macedonians would have a tough game, but their disciplined approach and terrific guard play should allow them to see off the challenge of the second-place side from Group C – the Dominicans or the Koreans – to reach the last four.

In Group A, Greece will be favorites to win both games with the expected return of bothVassilis Spanoulis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis to the line-up. The Puerto Ricans have lost their last two important games to the Greeks, at the qualifying event in Athens in 2008 and also in Ankara at the World Championship.

Both Puerto Rican basketball stars Carlos Arroyo (Besiktas) and Jose Barea (Minnesota) have been banged up of late. Jordan can be awkward opponents for Greece since they will play a slow, deliberate style in the half-court. The Greeks likely have far too much depth and experience, and coach Ilias Zouros also has a year at the helm under his belt. He was magnificent with a Greek team in turmoil last year.

In Group B, Nigeria are liking their chances of springing some upsets after clinching bronze at the Afrobasket in Madagascar. Recent evidence suggests Lithuania, who have played at every Olympics since 1992 and captured bronze at the last World Championship, should finish first with the return of Linas Kleiza to the squad and hopefully for fans of the Baltic side, Jonas Maciulis. Kleiza was an all-tournament selection in Turkey. Both he and Maciulis missed the EuroBasket in their homeland because of injuries.

Venezuela had to fight every inch of the way to get the fifth-place finish needed to reach the qualifying tournament. Their games against both Nigeria and Lithuania will be very interesting. The Venezuelans will have the home support, a great all-round talent in Greivis Vasquez of the New Orleans Hornets and the desire to capitalize on a golden opportunity to reach the Olympics for the first time since 1992. The most likely scenario is that Venezuela will get a win against Nigeria and come in second.

Should the Greeks face Venezuela in the Quarter-Finals, it would be the game of the century for the home fans and an extremely uncomfortable 40 minutes for Greece.

However, there is no substitute for experience, talent and a winning tradition and Greece have all three in abundance.

The Lithuanians, if they win Group A, would find a hard Semi-Final awaiting them against the Puerto Ricans if Flor Melendez’s team finishes second. Would Lithuania’s big men, Jonas Valanciunas, Robertas Javtokas and Paulius Jankunas, and maybe even emerging star Donatas Motiejunas, tilt the balance against the Puerto Ricans? The Lithuanians would appear to be the favorites is that match-up does materialize.

Should an all-European final four happen (which would either require all four Europeans to top their groups and win their respective Quarter-Finals, or – very unlikely – all four to finish second in their groups and win their Quarters), Russia would face off with Greece – a team they have beaten in their last six competitive games, while Lithuania would get a chance for revenge over the Macedonian team that broke their hearts and those of their fans at EuroBasket.

The two Semi-Final winners will book places for London, while the losers will face off in a battle for the third spot.

It’s anyone’s guess who would win the three games.

But really, with so many variables to take into consideration before the qualifying tournament, plenty of other scenarios could unfold.

The players on all the teams have cause to dream they will make it to London.

FIBA 

CARACAS, Venezuela (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) – FIBA on Tuesday concluded its visit to Venezuela with the draw for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, to be held in Caracas from 2-8 July 2012.

During a colourful ceremony, attended by a large number of officials and dignitaries, the twelve teams, who will be playing for the last three remaining places in the Olympic Basketball Tournament, were divided into four groups of three teams.

Group A

Greece
Jordan
Puerto Rico

Group B

Lithuania
Nigeria
Venezuela

Group C

Dominic Republic
Korea
Russia

Group D

Angola
F.Y.R. of Macedonia
New Zealand

The group stages will see the 12 teams play the two other teams in their respective groups in a standard round robin format (12 games in total). The top two teams in each group progress to the Quarter-Finals as follows:

A1 v B2
B1 v A2
C1 v D2
D1 v C2

The four winning quarterfinalists qualify for the Semi-Finals:

Winner [A1 v B2] v Winner [C1 v D2]
Winner [B1 v A2] v Winner [D1 v C2]

The two winning semifinalists automatically qualify for London 2012, while the two losing semifinalists face-off for 12th and final Olympic place.

FIBA meets Venezuela’s Ministry for Sport

On Monday, FIBA’s President Yvan Mainini and Secretary General Patrick Baumann visited the giant Polidero de Caracas arena, which is to undergo major refurbishments, before meeting with Venezuela’s Minister for Sport Héctor Rodríguez Castro to discuss the upcoming tournament, and the state of preparations.

Also present were FIBA Américas President Horacio Muratore, Deputy Minister of Sport Performance Yuri Quiñones and Venezuelan Basketball Federation (FVB) President Carmelo Cortez.  Following the meeting, Patrick Baumann said: “It was a great opportunity for us to meet with Mr Rodriguez and the Venezuelan Basketball Federation. A tournament like this requires a lot of preparation, and although there remains a lot of work to be done both for the tournament and for the renovation of the venue, we received all the necessary assurances from the government and the organisers that all targets and deadlines would be met.”

“The Minister also reiterated the government’s long-term support for our sport, which is one of the most popular in the country and we have therefore no doubts that the Olympic Qualifying Tournament will be a great event,” he concluded.

Olympic Qualifying Tournament Draw Results

FIBA

CARACAS (Olympic Qualifying Tournament) – An important step on the road to this summer’s London Games will be taken on Tuesday with the draw for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Caracas, Venezuela.Twelve teams will do battle in the Venezuelan capital from 2-8 July as they aim to book the three remaining places on offer for the Olympics.

Going into the hat for Tuesday’s draw are: Angola, Dominican Republic, F.Y.R. of Macedonia, Greece, Jordan, Korea, Lithuania, New Zealand, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Russiaand hosts Venezuela.

These 12 national sides will find out their opponents for the Preliminary Round of the OQT, which consists of four groups of three teams and is played in a round robin format.

The two best-placed teams in each Preliminary Round group will advance to the Quarter-Finals. The winners of the two Semi-Finals will automatically qualify for London, while the two losing Semi-Finalists will play for the third and final Olympic berth on offer.

The draw will take place at 17:00 local time (22:30 CET) and you can follow it live ondraws.fiba.com and watch it on fibatv.

The schedule for the OQT will be:
2-4 July: Preliminary Round
5 July: Rest day
6 July: Quarter-Finals
7 July: Semi-Finals
8 July: Finals

The nine teams already qualified for the 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament are: hosts Great Britain, 2010 FIBA World Champions USA, along with Argentina, Australia,Brazil, China, France, Spain and Tunisia who qualified through the 2011 FIBA Continental Championships.

FIBA

The Nuggets will face a tough double having to play the Auckland Pirates, who will boast the last two years Finals Most Valuable Player Lindsay Tait returns to his home town Auckland after a very successful stint with the two time defending champs the Wellington Saints.

2011 runners up the HBS Bank Hawks who have retained most of their roster will be at home to the Zero Fees Southland Sharks in a rematch of last year’s Quarter Final.

Sharks will have a relatively new look side with former Tall Black Craig Bradshaw and NZ Breakers development player Dion Prewster.

In another rematch of last year’s Quarter Finals the Fico Finance Nelson Giants will play the McDonalds Manawatu Jets, who have signed Josh Pace who played for the Giants back in 2007 where he won a title.

Pace was with the Hawks last season leading them to the Finals, and should hopefully bring success to the Jets who have yet to win a title since entering the league in 1982.

Taranaki Mountain Airs have retained arguably one of the most consistent import in the league in Jack Leasure who led the league in scoring last season at 22.9 points per game.

Leasure is teamed up with the high scoring guard Darryl Hudson who finished sixth in scoring at a touch under 19 points a game.

Airs have also added swingman Chris Daniel to roster, which makes a good match up against the Saints who will have a new look side with the losses of starters Tait, Leon Henry and Corey Webster.

It will be a battle of the bridge in the last game of Round One when the Heat host the Pirates.

To see the full draw click here

2012 Bartercard NBL(PDF)

The Kea U14 Boys have so far been unbeaten and therefore finished 1st in their pool. While Koru U14 Girls and Koru U16 Girls both lost one game to finish second after pool play.

To date this would be the most successful campaign involving eight of the twelve teams on the Koru tour.  These teams will now advance on to the quarterfinals and if successful will then play in their respective semi-finals later today.

More information, fixtures and results are AVAILABLE HERE!

It was the NZ Breakers who started the game the strongest quickly establishing an early 10 point lead with all the starting five troubling the scorers. Cam Stuart contributed the first 8 points of the Heat scoring but a better balanced offence from the Breakers led by 5 points from Alonso Burton saw them ahead 26-20 at quarter time. The Heat coped better with the Breakers pressure defence in the second quarter but with Tai Webster, Derone Raukawa and Alex Talma making strong contributions the Breakers still held a narrow advantage 43-42 at half time.

The Heat squad contained three of last year’s Breakers Academy graduates, Anamata Haku, James Ashby and Brad Anderson and all three played a part in the Heat getting the better of the third quarter to lead 72-62 at three quarter time. The battle in the paint between Haku and Isaac Fotu was an eye catching feature of the second half with both players upstaging more senior Heat players in the battle for dominance under the boards.

The Heat established a commanding 14 point lead early in the final period and appeared to be coasting to a comfortable win but a spirited revival from the young Breakers team led by Fotu, Raukawa and Reuben Te Rangi narrowed the advantage to just 4 points with 3 minutes remaining. However, the more experienced Heat team were able to resist the comeback and close out the game for a hard fought win.

Final score;

NZ Breakers  88 (Isaac Fotu 22, Tai Webster 17, Derone Raukawa 16, Alonso Burton 10)
Harbour Heat 94 (Marco Alexander 19, Cam Stuart 17, Brad Anderson 14, Charlie Piho 12)

Both teams will be grateful for the good workout. Perfect preparation for the Judd Flavell coached Breakers who were able to develop some of their team strategies ahead of an intense five games in four days tour and also a great opportunity for Heat coach Alex Stojkivic to cast his eye over players hoping to be selected for the Harbour NBL squad.

Written by Mike Lacey

Breakers Summer Camp tour schedule:

Friday 20^th 6.30pm @ Eltham High (Eltham) vs Eltham

Saturday 21st 12.00pm @ Bentleigh Secondary College vs McKinnon

Saturday 21^st 6.00pm @ Templestowe Leisure Center vs Bulleen

Sunday 22^nd  4.00pm @ Oakleigh Rec Centre vs Under 18 Vic Metro Coach

Monday 23^rd 12.00pm @ Albert Park College, Danks St, Albert Park vs Melbourne Tigers Squad

Daily Tour updates will be on www.breakersjunior.co.nz

It’s easier said than done when you have perennial bully boys such as Mika Vukona, Casey Frank and Dillon Boucher in your face.

HBS Bank Hawks basketballer Morgan Natanahira knows all about that.

“I was getting pushed around a wee bit,” the 21-year-old forward says after renewing his contract for another National Basketball League season. The NBL tips off in March with the Paul Henare-coached Hawks hosting the Southland Sharks in a repeat of last season’s quarterfinal.

Natanahira is not one to easily back off a challenge. Just ask talented American import small forward Josh Pace, who last winter ended up wearing a mask for a fractured cheek after Natanahira upped the tempo during a scrimmage.

Incidentally, Pace is fastening his seatbelt with the Manawatu Jets this season.

Consequently, Auckland-based Natanahira felt he needed to do something about it off-season.

While it can be a source of consternation to Henare to wonder what shape his players are in when they return for the pre-season build up, Natanahira decided to beef up.

“I’ve put on some weight this summer. I’ve gone from 96 kilos to 105,” says the player, who is returning for his second term.

“I hope it’s muscle but I’ll find that out at training,” he says, adding that Henare started not long after Christmas but he got into the fray from January 9.

It came as a shock to Natanahira at the end of last season when he received an invite to attend the trials with the Tall Blacks squad.

While disappointed he was one of four to miss the cut from 16 at the Millennium Institute of Sport in Auckland, he soaked up the experience, culture and rapport.

“It was amazing to just be in contention for three to four days.”

Returning to the Rod Earnshaw-owned Bay franchise was easy for him despite another heart-breaking end to a season in which the title proved elusive.

“I knew Paulie will give me a good chance to play so it was always a good option,” he says of the ANBL championship-winning Henare, who lured him here after helping him in the New Zealand Breakers’ academy over the years.

While he wasn’t sure of the entire makeup of the Hawks, Natanahira was looking forward to working with stalwarts such as Paora Winitana and veteran US import Galen Young.

Not too hung up on personal goals, Natanahira prefers to sing the team mantra.

“I’d like to see the Hawks going one better than last year. All I care for is the final result of the team,” he says.

Last year the Jarrod Kenny-captained Hawks lost to the Wellington Saints in the final, albeit without Winitana, a Mormon bishop who couldn’t play because of his religious beliefs after the game was switched at short notice from a Saturday to Sunday to cater for Sky TV coverage.

A laughing Henare admits the first impression his young charge made on him was of someone carrying extra weight.

“He’s been training with the Breakers and so I’ve been in close contact with him and they are very impressed with his work rate,” the former Tall Black says before his second season as Hawks coach.

Watching the men return with extra weight after the festive season can be a worry for coaches but not in Natanahira’s case. He’ll be “banging bodies”.

“The good thing with Morgan is that he is reasonably refined guy not shy to play the power forward role,” Henare says. “He’s been trialling as a swingman and No3 position, so we’re giving an opportunity in both positions.”

Henare feels Natanahira could be pivotal in stifling the likes of Frank and Lindsay Tait with his versatility and athleticism.

Bay-born forward Arthur Trousdell has crossed the floor to the Saints but former Hawk shooting guard Everard Bartlett may return to roost at home after a season in the wilderness with the Auckland Pirates.

Bartlett has been training in the ANBL season with the Perth Wildcats, whose assistant coach is ex-Hawk coach Shawn Dennis.

Closing date for Expressions of Interest is Sunday 22 January, 2012.

For details and more information CLICK HERE