In fact, the haka was first performed in 2006 when Winitana was playing and Vucinic had taken the coaching reins from Tab Baldwin.
"Nenad wanted us to have our own haka and asked us if we were keen," reveals Winitana, who had Bay-born Paul Henare in the squad.
Henare and ex-Tall Black captain Pero Cameron are Vucinic's assistant co-coaches.
Winitana says Tamatea Rugby Club stalwart Don Hutana engineered the project in 2006, which they performed for the first time at the Pettigrew-Green Arena, Taradale, in their test match against Venezuela.
"Don did all the work. He came up with the ideas and I just helped him."
The stirring rendition, he says, is meaningful and encapsulates a beautiful segment of the Maori culture: "It has nothing to do with basketball. It's all about going into battle."
Tu Kaha translates to "stand strong, be firm" and o Pango signifies the black singlet.
"It's all about how we can stand staunch with all the adversity and chaos around us, not just in sport but in life in general.
"When faced with the greatest storm in life, people tend to shy away from the challenges," the Mormon bishop says.
"It's not the strength of the man but the spirit that counts."
The pine tree isn't massive like the totara but it's tall and sturdy. Its sprawling root system denotes the strength of small communities when they have the propensity to bind for a united cause.
The haka is based on the Maori story of Tane who has at his disposal the three baskets of knowledge on his challenge-filled journey.
The kete-aronui (knowledge to help humans); the kete-tuauri (ritual, memory and prayer) and the kete-tuatea (evil or makutu, harmful to people).
"The great storm is Tawhiri who tries to stop Tane from becoming successful," he says.
That symbolic message is something Winitana hopes will rub off on the schoolboys who rehearsed and performed the haka under his guidance for the past few weeks.
"It teaches students to behave responsibly and how they should overcome challenges in everyday life."
He had faith in the Mika Vukona-captained Tall Blacks to weather "to respond favourably when they look out and see the storm approaching" in Spain from this weekend.
"The tournament is a tough one with Russia and the USA but I believe they'll compete to get out of their pool."
On request from former Hawk and New Zealand Breakers captain Henare, Winitana helped the Tall Blacks perform the haka with some precision in Auckland before they jetted off on their pre-cup tour of Europe and Asia on their way to to Spain.
"They were a little out of rhythm but they were starting to come right and were looking sharp before they left.
"They'll do well," he says.