Basketball New Zealand

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Basketball New Zealand and the NZ Olympic Committee have named a team of four to contest the men’s basketball competition at this month’s Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

The team is …

James Ashby (West Auckland)

Ben Fraser (North Harbour)

Michael Karena (Nelson)

Reuben Te Rangi (Counties-Manukau)

The tournament, played under FIBA33 rules, will begin on August 15 with New Zealand facing Greece in the opening men’s game. All athletes were born between January 1, 1993, and December 31, 1994.

Coach Anthony Corban said he and his players will have benefited from finishing third at an international three-on-three tournament in Germany last month, even though only Karena was on that roster.

“It was a massive help in figuring out how this FIBA33 is played,” he said. “It will be a real shock for the boys that didn’t go.

“Size is a key – there is no three-second rule and most teams will just permanently park a big guy under the basket.

“And we know we’re going to see a lot of ‘pick and roll’, and a lot of fouling.

“Unfortunately, we’re not a big team, so that will be a challenge for us.”

Still, Corban hopes to catch the giants in his “pool of death” by surprise.

“We have Greece first up, and maybe we can lure them into a sense of false security and knock them over.

“Then we have a day off, which will give us a chance to scout Puerto Rico.”

New Zealand round off pool play against Serbia and India.

“The opportunity for us to send a FIBA33 team to the first ever Youth Olympic Games will be a tremendous experience for the team and represents another stage in the development of three-on-three basketball on the global stage,” says BBNZ chief executive Tim Hamilton.

“The squad’s success in Germany will give them some confidence for the event and their progress in the Singapore will be followed with interest.”