Basketball: Tall order for teams but morale high

By PETER JESSUP

The Kiwi basketball teams had a hard lesson in the speed and intensity of international basketball in their Olympics openers, the men outpaced by France yesterday and the women outsized by Poland on Saturday.

The Tall Blacks discounted fatigue as a factor in their 50-76 loss to the French but looked tired as they made too many mistakes and missed too many shots while playing catch-up.

Sean Marks top-scored with 12 to underline the value of NBA experience. Only Ralph Lattimore and captain Pero Cameron, with eight apiece, were able to make any marked impression against the faster French. Guards Paul Henare and Mark Dickel were energetic and did some good distribution work but the forwards could not score as often as they needed to make it a contest.

The opposition made 17 points on the break, New Zealand only five. The Tall Blacks gave France 18 points from turnovers, the French gave them 12.

Manager Robin Milligan said the team were disappointed they could not maintain the intensity for the whole game. They had struggled with the adaptation to the 20-minute game.

"It certainly wasn't one of our better games. We're disappointed we didn't execute well enough to stay in touch with them. We had a number of open looks at the basket and didn't take advantage. Playing catch-up is always difficult and the execution isn't always what you'd want."

Today they will debrief, watch their next opponents, China, play the US Dream Team, and run though a final tune-up in the Sydney University gym.

The Tall Blacks have pushed the Chinese hard in several games recently and must fancy they'll give a good account of themselves again, despite another height difference given China's Great Wall of three 2.2m-plus in the front line.

The women started too tentatively against the Poles on Saturday and paid, letting the opposition out to a 34-9 lead. United States WNBA star Malgorzata Dydek scored 16 points before the Tall Ferns came back to 43-23.

The New Zealanders came out harder after the break and scored 10 unanswered points, but then began to run out of steam as the far taller opposition stepped up their attack. Dydek top-scored for the Poles with 20, reflecting her impact on the game. "Her size was enough to put anyone off their game," Tall Ferns manager Kim Lucas said of the 2.13m Dydek.

Julie Ofsoski scored 13, Tania Brunton 10, but the Ferns missed too often, a 36 per cent strike rate overall compared to the Poles' 52. Belinda Colling played only 3 1/2 minutes, missed the two shots she attempted, and was subbed off. Lucas denied Colling was suffering from the ankle she turned in training on Thursday and said she was fit for today's game against Korea.

"We're buoyed by the fact we competed well late in the first half and early in the second half," Lucas said, acknowledging those periods were when teams often put on a scoring spurt. She discounted the suggestion that the Ferns were overawed by being at the Olympics.

"They knew where they were all right. They knew how many people were backing them in New Zealand. After a bad start they pulled together and showed strength of character to come back."

Yesterday there were smiles all round at training, no slumped shoulders, which had Lucas and coach Carl Dickel confident better was to come. The Koreans play a fast game and like to take on the opposition.

Defence will be the key for the Ferns.