Basketball: Baldwin takes it on the chin

LONDON - New Zealand men's basketball coach Tab Baldwin accepted the blame for his team's 74-77 loss to Bulgaria in Yambol yesterday.

Baldwin said the Tall Blacks had little knowledge of the unheralded Europeans.

"They were a lot stiffer competition than we expected. We knew nothing about them. Our natural inclination was that they weren't as tough a side as the other European teams we've played before.

"But we have learned that anywhere you go in Europe, the kids play basketball.

"It's my fault. I didn't have the guys as primed as I should have. I'm a little disappointed in myself. We were guilty of focusing more on the Olympics and not the team that we were playing."

The Tall Blacks, who have won just one match - their first against Puerto Rico - during a pre-Olympic tour of Europe, found the first half tough when they were down 33-40.

Shooting guard Kirk Penney left the game with a sprained ankle after just one minute and Ed Book did not play because of bruised ribs.

The New Zealanders trailed 17-22 after the first quarter and lost the second period 16-18.

"They systematically hurt us in the first half with their zone defence," Baldwin said. "We made adjustments at halftime and the team responded to them."

There was an instant improvement after the interval, although the New Zealanders could not do enough to overhaul their hosts, who are ranked in the top half of 47 European teams.

The Tall Blacks levelled the third spell at 22-22 but were still behind at 55-62 before winning the fourth quarter 19-15.

Captain Pero Cameron top-scored for New Zealand with 20 points, while Mark Dickel had 13, Sean Marks 12 and Phill Jones 10.

Filip Zidenov had a game-high 24 points for Bulgaria.

New Zealand will look to finish their tour on a high note in a return match against Bulgaria tomorrow before travelling to Athens, where they will play Greece on August 12 before their Olympic opener against Italy three days later.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand women's basketball team were to play a "friendly" against Bulgaria overnight.

The Tall Ferns have had a five-day training camp in Sofia before heading to Athens, where their opening match is against the United States on August 14.


- NZPA