Out With The Old Ö
Tagged in: Tall Blacks
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New Dominion Finance NZ Tall Black coach Nenad Vucinic is wary of a new-look Venezuelan line-up missing the veterans that have made them an international force over the past decade.
The roster for this weekís series does not include Venezuelaís three biggest names of recent years – guard Oscar Torres (30), forward Victor Diaz (39) and centre Richard Lugo (34) – and while Torres still seems to be in the mix for this yearís Olympic qualifying campaign, the others have become victims of a retooling exercise.
“It wasn’t a lightly taken decision,î said Venezuelan Basketball Federation president Carmel Cortez, when he announced the squad last week.
ìWe analysed it a lot and decided to take a bet on the younger players for this new cycle that has qualifying to the 2010 World Cup as the main objective.”
Torres was among the 16 players selected for the squad, but is not on the tour roster for New Zealand.
Lugo, Diaz, Pablo Machado (30), Tomas Aguilera (29), Carlos Morris (31), Ernesto Mijares (30) and Gregory Vallenilla (27) have all been dropped from the group that won just one game – 84-77 over Nigeria – at last yearís FIBA World Championships in Japan.
ìAlthough we played them last year, they are an unknown quantity,î confirms Vucinic. ìThey have done a bit of rebuilding, which will make them tougher.
ìThey have a lot of younger, quality players. They are not as experienced, but should provide tougher opposition than last year.î
New Zealand, ranked 12th in the world, have faced Venezuela (21st) twice in recent years, defeating them in pool play at the 2002 world championships and then again by 30 points in the build-up to last yearís tournament.
ìI remember we had a really poor first half and then had a really stern talk at halftime,î recalls Vucinic about their most recent encounter. ìWhen we took the lead, they just folded.
ìI think that was a reflection of their players being a bit tired of the whole thing. This young squad will be hungry to prove themselves and qualify for the Olympics, even though they are looking more at 2010.î
While most of their big names are missing, one Venezuelan the Tall Blacks will have to watch is forward Hector Romero, who was an all-star selection at the 2005 Tournament of the Americas, but missed the world championships through injury.
They should also retain a similar style of play. Despite the new wave of players, incumbent coach Nestor Salazar has been retained to oversee the operation.
ìTo tell you the truth, I know nothing about them, only those three senior players that arenít there,î says Vucinic.
ìBut I see they have a lot of players from their local league, which is a good league and high paying. They have some playing in Puerto Rica and two good young point guards at top US colleges.
ìI expect a typical South American style Ö high tempo, aggressive defence and good shooters. I donít think they will be at the same level as Australia, but they will have similar body types.î
Vucinic isnít too concerned about facing the unknown. In a way, it is ideal preparation for his main objection – defeating the Boomers in next monthís Olympic qualifying series.
ìYou go into the first game not knowing much and then try to adjust quickly within 48 hours. Thatís part of the challenge Ö learning to adjust during the game and between games.î
2007 Tall Blacks Media Kit (pdf 699KB)
