Basketball New Zealand

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The Australian Boomers will return to their graveyard – the hallowed floor of the North Shore Events Centre – when they cross the Tasman for the first leg of this year’s Ramsay Shield series against the Tall Blacks on June 26.

That stadium was the scene of the most important victory in New Zealand basketball history and probably the Boomers’ darkest hour – the 89-78 result that saw the home team steal the 2001 FIBA Oceania Championship series to qualify for the world championships.

The NSEC has since hosted international success over Hungary (2002) and India twice (2006), and become a tough proposition for Australian clubs in the Hummer Championship. The Harvey Norman NZ Breakers compiled an 11-4 home record there over the past summer, including wins over defending champions the Brisbane Bullets and eventual champions the Melbourne Tigers.

“North Harbour Basketball is thrilled to be hosting the test against the Australian Boomers in conjunction with Events Centre Enterprises,” says chief executive John Hunt. “We like to think of the North Shore Events Centre as the spiritual home of basketball in New Zealand.

“These two teams have had some titanic struggles in recent years. The Boomers won a hard-fought qualifying series in Australia last year and will field one of the strongest teams in world basketball, while the Tall Blacks will be building towards their Olympic qualifying series in Europe and will be keen to avenge last year’s loss. It will be an exceptional test match and a fantastic showcase for the sport of basketball in North Shore City.”

Staging the fixture on a Thursday will continue the development of “basketball night”, not only with the Dominion Finance NBL on SKY TV, but also among local fans who have grown used to that scheduling for Breakers games at the NSEC.

The encounter will be the Tall Blacks’ only appearance in New Zealand this year. The following day, they will travel to Melbourne for the return leg of the Ramsay Shield series, then depart for Canada and Slovenia en route to the qualifying tournament in Athens, Greece, from July 14-20.