Basketball New Zealand

Coach Nenad Vucinic during a Tall Blacks timeout (Photosport)

As strange as it may sound, New Zealand Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic is just as concerned with Cape Verde as he is Germany.

The Tall Blacks face Cape Verde, a team Vucinic termed “unknown”, in their first group B game at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens on Monday night, before playing world number nine Germany early Thursday morning.

Cape Verde, ranked 56th with Bulgaria, Poland, Czech Republic and South Africa, were the surprise team at the African Championships last year, upsetting established basketball national Nigeria in the quarterfinals and Egypt in the third-fourth playoff for a berth in Athens.

“We’ve got a couple of tapes of them from last year,” Vucinic said.

“But they have about five new players that they’ve found in the States that have a Cape Verde connection.

“It is tough to scout them. We don’t really know who we’re playing against in the first game, so that is a concern for me.”

One of those key additions is American-born guard Jeff Xavier, who averaged 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 steals for the Providence Friars in NCAA Division I last season, while their squad also features former U-Mass swingman Tony Barros, cousin of former NBA sharpshooter Dana Barros, and leading scorer Rodrigo Mascarenhas.

“They have got some good players. They’re certainly not going to be easy beats because we don’t know what they run and what they can do.

“It is the game I’m really worried about. It would be good to get that game in the bag and then going on to play the world powers like Germany and other teams.

“We know we’re big underdogs playing against a team like Germany but we know we are capable of winning against anybody on our night. Hopefully we can go into that game with a win over Cape Verde.”

The reason for Vucinic’s concern is the stakes on the tournament’s opening game.

A win over the West African archipelago would almost guarantee the Tall Blacks a place in the quarterfinals, whether they win or lose against Germany, provided the Germans do not slip up against Cape Verde. A loss would force them to defeat Germany, a country New Zealand has never beaten.

Germany have NBA superstar Dirk Nowitzki and Los Angeles Clipper Chris Kaman, who recently obtained his German citizenship and insurance clearances, and proven internationals Stefan Hamann, Demond Greene and Patrick Femerling.

The Germans have been weakened by injuries to Ademola Okulaja (back), Jo Herber (knee) and Mithat Demirel (eye).

New Zealand finished off their Olympic qualifying tournament preparations with a confidence-boosting 91-80 win over Iran, ending with a 3-5 record, including wins over fellow qualifying hopefuls Lebanon and Canada.

“I have been very pleased with the way the team has progressed. We were able to turn around 40 points against Canada and beat Lebanon also. And to lose by six and eight to Puerto Rico and Slovenia, and to beat Iran, was pretty pleasing.

“This is another step up to play at the qualifying tournament against world class team and it is a challenge but it’s something we’re really looking forward to . . . everyone is really anxious to get the tournament started and play that first game.”

The Tall Blacks, who have no injury concerns ahead of the tournament, have alleviated some of the turnover and poor shooting issues that plagued their early games, while team defence improvements have been pointed to as critical for the team’s chances of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.

“If we are going to be successful, it’s going to be as a team,” captain Pero Cameron said. “And what the individuals do within the team. It’s about the team.

“We’re really buzzing because it’s game time. We’ve got a game to play tomorrow, it’s a big game. The first game, it does feel a little bit like Russia at Indianapolis (2002 World Championships) and Italy in Athens (2004 Olympics).”

Should New Zealand advance to the quarterfinal stage, they will face a must-win game against, most likely, either hosts and world number six Greece or 18th-ranked Brazil on Saturday.

Tall Blacks at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament

Group B

Vs Cape Verde, Monday, July 14 (10pm NZ time)
Vs Germany, Thursday, July 17 (4.30am NZ time)