Basketball: Sport in for cash rebound

The Tall Blacks' world championship triumph may have a financial spinoff.

The country's top sports funding agency says the door remains open for basketball to get a grant for an Olympics campaign.

A year ago, the former Sports Foundation awarded Basketball New Zealand $200,000 for its Indianapolis programme, but basketball, along with soccer and hockey, was controversially left off the new Sport and Recreation New Zealand list of top 10 sports this year.

Tim Mahon, a performance director at the national Academy of Sport, a Sparc offshoot, said he expected to discuss Olympic funding with basketball officials on their return from the United States.

Across the Tasman, there was delight that New Zealand, by making the top four, had done them a favour by opening a second spot for Oceania at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Australia are almost certain to get that place.

"We were certainly supporting New Zealand anyway because we knew that they were a strong team and we thought it was important from the zone point of view that New Zealand played well in the world championships," Basketball Australia chief executive Scott Derwin said.

"We're delighted with it. We think it's a great result."