Basketball: Don't waste team's sweat warns Tall Blacks' coach

By JENNI RUTHERFORD

INDIANAPOLIS - New Zealand coach Tab Baldwin warned against wasting the Tall Blacks' superb achievement at the world championships, after his team finished fourth in Indianapolis yesterday.

Speaking after New Zealand were beaten out of the bronze medal by Germany, 117-94, Baldwin said the spin-offs from the team's result, which sees New Zealand secure a second Oceania place at the 2004 Athens Olympics, had great potential.

"It will mean huge respect for our basketball team on the international stage."

He said that would mean that teams would want the New Zealanders to tour and would also want to visit New Zealand to play the Tall Blacks.

Baldwin said the onus was now on the national body and the nation's players to build on what the Tall Blacks had accomplished.

"The greatest crime would be the effort that this team has expended to achieve this would not matched back home by the rest of our basketball family."

In a thrilling final, which went to overtime, Yugoslavia won their second consecutive world gold medal with an 84-77 victory over previously unbeaten Argentina.

It was Yugoslavia's fifth world title, after wins in 1970, 1978, 1990 and 1998, and their 10th medal at the competition, giving them one more than the United States.

The US wound up in sixth place, their worst showing ever.

Argentina's silver medal was their first at the tournament since they took gold in 1950 at the inaugural event in Buenos Aires.

Yugoslavia led 41-39 at halftime, but Argentina, despite playing in front of a large partisan pro-Yugoslavia crowd, held their opponents to just 11 points in the third quarter to lead 57-52 heading into the fourth quarter.

But Yugoslavia rallied and tied the game on a pair of free throws by Dejan Bodiroga with 17.4s to go.

Vlade Divac had a chance to win the game when he went to the free throw line with 5.9s remaining, but he missed both throws, sending the game into overtime.

Yugoslavia outscored Argentina 9-2 in the extra period, sending the crowd into hysterics.

Fabricio Oberto led Argentina with 28 points. Dejan Bodiroga had 27 points for Yugoslavia and Predrag Stojakovic had 26.

In Belgrade, shots were fired in the air as hundreds of thousands of jubilant Yugoslav fans hit the streets to celebrate.

"The victory is so much sweeter as it was scored in America, the cradle of basketball," former Yugoslav team captain Aleksandar Djordjevic said on state television.

As for the Tall Blacks, Baldwin was down on his coaching performance after yesterday's loss.

"Frankly I don't think I did a very good job today.

"I should apologise to the team and the country for that because it is my job to do it well."

He refused to take any credit for the phenomenal results the Tall Blacks returned at their first tournament as the Oceania qualifiers.

"These guys never quit, they gave it their all. They're a special group and we as a team have accomplished something special but let's put the credit squarely on the shoulders of the guys that went out and played their hearts out."

As for yesterday's loss, he said: "The will and desire was there, I just think the tanks were starting to run on empty."

The game never quite reached the heights of their previous performances in this championship.

The Germans were contesting their first world championship medal yesterday in the tournament's 52-year history.

Phill Jones, New Zealand top points scorer for the match with 26, said he was relieved the rollercoaster ride that has been this championship for the Tall Blacks, was over.

"It feels like a huge weight off your shoulders," he said.

The 28-year-old Jones will not return to New Zealand and was to leave today for Italy to join his new club Cantu.

New Zealand were stopped in their tracks by German NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, who finished with a game-high 29 points.

The Germans were in control by halftime, putting together almost 40 points to New Zealand's 21 in the second quarter to gain a 74-48 advantage. The Tall Blacks fell behind by as much as 41 points, but closed the margin to 23 by the game's end.

Again depth on the opposition bench was superior to that of the Tall Blacks. The German reserves contributed 50 points to New Zealand's 21.

Germany 117 (D. Nowitzki 29, A. Okulaja 21)
New Zealand 94 (P. Jones 26, K. Penney 19, P. Cameron 13)
Halftime: 74-48.

Final standings from the 14th World Championships:

1: Yugoslavia

2: Argentina

3: Germany

4: New Zealand

5: Spain

6: United States

7: Puerto Rico

8: Brazil

9: Turkey

10: Russia

11: Angola

12: China

13: Canada

14: Venezuela

15: Algeria

16: Lebanon

- NZPA

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