Basketball: Not sheepish over NZ link

Angela Marino could be forgiven for feeling a little sheepish (we promise this will be the last ovine pun).

Standing there facing the haka when the Tall Ferns arrived at the Olympic Village at Athens last year, many assumed Marino would know what it was all about.

With her dark complexion and hair, Marino, 19, could easily have passed for one of the hundreds of talented Maori who dominate basketball in this country.

Truth is, it was the first time Marino had seen a haka. They're not that common in Adelaide, or Italy for that matter.

While looks can be deceiving, accents rarely are.

When Marino speaks, you know her link to the Shaky Isles is, well, shaky. She's lived in Australia all but six months of her life.

"My parents are both Italian but I just happened to be born in New Zealand," Marino said. "Dad's an engineer and was working in Auckland at the time but then went to Australia to run some projects, or something like that."

The diminutive Marino was noticed during the Australian national age-group champs, where New Zealand also competes.

Once it was established that the talented South Australian point guard - who could shoot like a two-guard - was born in New Zealand, Mike McHugh grabbed her number and passed it on to then-Tall Ferns coach Tom Maher.

"He invited me over to trial for the Athens team. I was like 'oh my God, do I even count? I guess I do as I was born there'."

So Marino, who is with the Tall Ferns camp in Lower Hutt this weekend along with victorious Sting shooter Donna Loffhagen and the rest of the squad, went to Athens as the smallest member with the lowest profile of a low-profile team.

She came back with an enhanced reputation after starring for a Tall Ferns squad that exceeded expectations by reaching the quarter-finals.

Along the way she also became the sixth best shooter in the tournament from beyond the three-point arc.

"It was one of the best experiences of my life. To play at that level was unbelievable."

Marino plays for Canberra in Australia's WNBL. Last season she was the fifth-best scorer in the league. She has offers to play in Italy and Spain but has plans for life after basketball too.

She is studying law in Adelaide. "Because I'm basically in the off-season I'm doing extra study to catch up and then when the semester ends I'll concentrate fully on basketball."

It must be noted, too, that by the time Marino had left Athens she felt like a Kiwi. "I'll always be a bit New Zealand, a bit Australian and a bit Italian. I guess I'm very multicultural."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY