Basketball New Zealand

Pero Cameron and Phill Jones

Marc Hinton, Sunday Star Times
They came into the Tall Blacks together 16 long years ago and it’s fitting that Pero Cameron and Phill Jones are set to bring the curtain down alongside each other.

Whether it all ends in another of those unlikely fairytale stories from a side which specialises in the role of giantkiller, or whether it concludes ingloriously amid the realities of the world’s second biggest sport remains to be seen.

But one thing is certain: Cameron, Jones and their fellow Tall Blacks will not go down without a fight in their fourth appearance at basketball’s world championships in Turkey.

They are the ultimate old warriors, these two. Both are 36, both well past 100 caps and both are making international comebacks as their storied careers draw to a close.

Cameron has hardly hit the hardwood in anger for a year after a knee injury and then double stress fracture in his foot sidelined him, many thought permanently. His very presence in the squad in Istanbul preparing for its first build-up game is as unlikely as it is unprecedented. And Jones has had to “un-retire” after hanging up his singlet for the last few international campaigns because of family commitments, the lure of one more dip at the world’s elite just too much to resist. For coach Nenad Vucinic there was never any question he would take these two former national team-mates of his along for one last hurrah. He, more than anyone, knows their value as players, as leaders and, especially, as men for the big occasion.

The skipper and the sharpshooter have been very much the driving force behind a team that has, more often than not, over-achieved beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.

We all remember their roles in the magnificent run to the semifinals at the 2002 world championships in Indianapolis. Jones led the Tall Blacks’ scoring with 18.2 points per game (ninth overall at the championships) and Cameron was their on-court inspirational force, eventually being named with NBA superstars Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Manu Ginobili and Peja Stojakovic in the event’s All-Star five.

But the Tall Blacks have been more than one-hit wonders. They’re now consistently picking up wins over Australia and have risen to the heady ranking of 13th in the world out of over 210 constituents.

And, wouldn’t you know it, the grizzled vets are promising to create more angst as they once again play the role of David against the hoops world’s Goliaths in Turkey.

“We’re a pretty strong team, we go deep,” said Jones. “If teams underestimate us, they could be in trouble. We’ll definitely try to walk over people that don’t respect us. That motivates us. We’re a small nation, and basketball’s not hugely known in New Zealand, but when we get a good group together and get things right, anything can happen.”

Jones is just happy to have Cameron along for what could be their final ride at this level. “He has this impact – he doesn’t mince his words, he tells it how it is – but he has the respect of everyone and you can’t replace a guy like that, even if he’s only on one foot. And he still makes big shots.”

Jones, like all the Tall Blacks, is keen to distance this side from the 2002 heroics. He calls it “the benchmark”, a little moment in time when all the cards fell in the right places. “If that happens again, great, but we just need to take each game on its merit, win the ones we need to, and then, when it’s all over, sit back and reflect on what we’ve done,” he says.

Cameron’s presence would be considered controversial if he wasn’t who he is, with some doubting his ability to keep pace at this level any more.

Just prior to last weekend’s selection trial, doubts even swirled in his head about “whether I could get this done”.

Why, I ask? Surely he’s proven all he needs to? “That’s far from the truth,” says Cameron. “I have proven some things, but maybe 10 other things haven’t gone my way and that’s fine – I think there’s a lot more [to come].”

Cameron likes the feeling of going to battle with some familiar troops, and a few new ones. “It’s fun, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t going to be what I wanted,” he says. “We’ve got some pretty astute coaches, and they know what it’s about at this level.” More importantly, they know what it takes. Men like Cameron and Jones