Out Of Africa
Tagged in: National Teams, Tall Ferns
The NZ Tall Ferns’ fortunes at the Beijing Olympics may well rest on their games against Angola on the upcoming tour of Europe.
New Zealand’s national women’s basketball team face an intense itinerary – six games in nine days – beginning with the first of two encounters with the Africans in Madrid on Wednesday.
Given the limited opportunities available against teams from that part of the world, coach Mike McHugh hopes the fixtures will help his outfit prepare for their must-win pool game against African champions Mali at Beijing.
“The chance to play against an African-style team is really helpful for us,” he says. “They may not be Mali, but they are a good replica of them and a real benefit to our preparation.
“They have some decent players and because we are travelling across the globe to play them, they will be good hard games.”
Angola finished third in the 2007 FIBA Afrobasket, losing to Mali in the semifinals, and now hope to qualify through the Olympic qualifying tournament in Spain from June 9-15.
“Like other African teams, they have a number of players in US colleges and one or two in Europe,” observes McHugh. “Generally, their players don’t live in Africa.
“Being based offshore definitely helps their individual development, but not their chemistry as a team. The fact they haven’t played much together could be in our favour.”
Travel will undoubtedly be a huge factor in the Ferns’ early tour games. Point guard Angela Marino left Adelaide at 9.35am on Sunday and reached Madrid almost 41 hours later.
The tough schedule probably doesn’t allow much time for recovery either. The Tall Ferns move to Valencia on Thursday to face Spain (Friday) and Japan (Saturday), before returning to Madrid for a second bite of the cherry against Angola (Monday).
“Travel depletes energy and fluid levels,” notes McHugh. ‘We can’t just expect to hop off a plane and be in prime playing shape.
“We have a travel plan … it’s a matter of managing fluid intake and getting the players into situations for some rest during the trip.
“It’s just a matter of learning to cope through the obstacles.”
