Basketball New Zealand

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NZ Tall Ferns at 2007 Oceania Chamionships (Photosport)

The New Zealand Olympic Committee has announced the New Zealand women’s basketball team (Tall Ferns) has been selected to the Olympic team to Beijing 2008.

The Tall Ferns, who qualified for the Olympic Games after beating Fiji in the Oceania Championships in September, have also demonstrated to New Zealand Olympic selectors they are capable of progressing beyond pool play at Beijing next year. The Tall Ferns are currently ranked 16th in the world.

‚ÄúWe are confident the team is capable of a strong finish in Beijing,” said NZOC secretary general and selector Barry Maister. “The Tall Ferns delivered an excellent result at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 and have improved their performance since then.

‚ÄúThey won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne last year and recorded a very close result against seventh-ranked Cuba recently.”

The Tall Ferns made the quarterfinals in Athens 2004 and an intensive build-up programme is planned as the team heads for its third straight Olympic Games.

Basketball New Zealand will name the individual players in 2008.

The New Zealand Olympic Committee will be making further selection announcements for Beijing 2008 as teams and individuals meet selection criteria.

Most selections will be made in early 2008.