Basketball New Zealand

Spanish star Pau Gasol (FIBA)

The Tall Blacks have drawn defending champions Spain in pool play at next year’s FIBA World Championship for Men in Turkey.

In the official draw ceremony at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel in Istanbul, New Zealand have ended up in Pool D alongside the titleholders, Euro powerhouses France and Lithuania, Canada and Lebanon.

They also landed in the coastal town of Izmir for their early fixtures.

“No section is easy,” observes Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic. “We have three top-level teams in Spain, France and Lithuania, and while Canada and Lebanon are also tough teams, we have beaten them in the past.

“As always, there is a chance.”

In fact, the Kiwis beat both Canada and Lebanon in North America, en route to last year’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece. But they have also suffered two heavy losses to the Canadians in the past two years, so will have plenty of respect for their Commonwealth rivals.

Vucinic’s assessment of the draw focused very much on the third grouping, where Australia, American champions Brazil, Puerto Rico and Canada were to be distributed among the four pools.

The Boomers’ higher seeding was somewhat bewildering given the result of this year’s FIBA Oceania Championships, where the Tall Blacks pulled off a stunning series victory and thought they had secured the zone’s top spot.

“But that’s just the way it is,” rues Vucinic. “We knew we couldn’t get Australia from that group and didn’t want to get with Brazil.

“We wanted Puerto Rico or Canada … and that’s what we got.”

By comparison, Australia have ended up in Pool A with Argentina, Serbia, Germany, Angola and Jordan, possibly the toughest of the four groups.

“I don’t think our section is as tough as theirs, but it’s pretty hard to look at it 10 months out when you don’t know who will be in each team with injuries and availability.”

Vucinic and his staff will now begin gathering intelligence on their opponents, and he already has insight into the coaching styles of his European counterparts.

“I am not that familiar with the coach of Lebanon, but I will be, and of course we know Canada pretty well.”

Located on Aegean coast, Izmir is Turkey’s third most-populated city (3.8 million) and second biggest port after Istanbul.

“It is nice and has a huge history,” informs Vucinic. “But we are not going there for tourism purposes.

“We will have our heads down in video sessions and playing games.”

Spain

World ranking – third
Defending world champions, Beijing Olympic silver medalists and qualified by winning 2009 FIBA Eurobasket. Led by LA Lakers forward Pau Gasol and a collection of other NBA talent, but even their bench players are battle hardened by one of the toughest national leagues in Europe. Beat New Zealand in pool play at both the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2006 FIBA World Championships.

France

World ranking – 15th
Talented and athletic, but somewhat erratic, hence their relatively low ranking. On their day, they can challenge any team in the world, but lost heavily in the quarterfinals to eventual winners Spain at this year’s European championships and qualified by finishing fifth. Led by San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker, but can also call on a growing group of NBA performers. New Zealand last played France in 2002 en route to the world championships and lost twice to a rebuilding outfit while still jetlagged.

Canada

World ranking – 19th
Very familiar opponents who hold a 2-1 record over New Zealand over the past two years, most recently winning 90-68 in Italy in July. While NBA star Steve Nash has apparently retired from international basketball, they have some NBA experience, but even more in European leagues.

Lithuania

World ranking – sixth
Rock solid programme that performs superbly at Olympics (three consecutive semifinals), but not so well in world championship campaigns. Without inspirational point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, they struggled at Eurobasket this year, failing to make the quarterfinals, and had to rely on a wild card for inclusion in the field for Turkey. The Tall Blacks enjoyed a 3-1 record over a rebuilding Lithuanian outfit in 2005.

Lebanon

World ranking – 24th
Another wild card entry attending their third straight world championships. Lost the bronze medal playoff to Jordan at the FIBA Asian Championships, but possibly got the nod because of their passion for basketball and the likelihood their fans will make the short trip to Turkey to support the team. New Zealand beat them 84-71 in Canada last year.

The full world championship draw is …

Pool A

Kayseri
Argentina (1)
Serbia (5)
Australia (11)
Germany (7)
Angola (12)
Jordan (37)

Pool B

Istanbul
USA (2)
Slovenia (20)
Brazil (14)
Croatia (15)
Iran (21)
Tunisia (42)

Pool C

Ankara
Greece (4)
Turkey (18)
Puerto Rico (10)
Russia (17)
China (9)
Ivory Coast (40)

Pool D

Izmir
Spain (3)
France (15)
Canada (19)
Lithuania (6)
New Zealand (13)
Lebanon (24)