Basketball: Tall Blacks seek big bucks for next level

By PETER JESSUP

Money is the most important factor as the Tall Blacks seek to secure the international competition that will prepare them for a competitive showing on the world stage.

Their Hillary Commission grant for preparation for the world qualifying series, in which they beat Australia, was $20,000 - full stop.

The Australian Basketball Federation had a budget of $A1.2 million to follow through what it expected would be a trip-of-right to the championships of the world governing body, FIBA, in Indianapolis, United States, next September.

There was action aplenty yesterday after Sunday's historic win at the North Shore Events Centre which gave New Zealand a 2-1 series win.

Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) will present a case for better funding to both the Hillary Commission and Sports Foundation today.

It wants to send national coach Tab Baldwin on a development tour to the US in November with a squad including young Tall Blacks, ones not already playing overseas and some on the fringe of selection.

There are plans to have Argentina and Brazil, both also scheduled to be at Indianapolis, tour here and the Tall Blacks tour there.

BBNZ has also approached England, who toured last year but went home beaten and sour, and will push for further contact with Australia despite the indication after Sunday's result that they would not want to help further develop a New Zealand game that would then threaten their international qualifying spot.

"As much as Australia might not want to show us what they've got, they'll want to see what we have," said BBNZ manager David Crocker.

"Neither of us will make it from this side of the world if the other is isolated."

Long-distance travel remained a big impediment to attracting teams here or sending ours away.

Baldwin was coy on the subject of how competitive New Zealand might be in Indianapolis.

"Competitive" is something he doesn't want to be.

"I'm not going over there to come home with respectable scorelines," he said.

"I'm going to take the games one at a time and try and win every single one of them.

"Set that as a goal and hopefully you are competitive even if you lose.

" I only know one way and that's to win. I'll be shooting to win every single game between now and the end of that tournament."

NZ's qualification filled out the 16-team pool, the European zone also confirming its representatives.

There are five FIBA zones, with the number of teams from each going to the world champs determined by the number of players registered in each region.

* Africa has places for two teams; Algeria and Angola qualified.

* Asia has two; Lebanon and China made it.

* The Americas get five - Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

* Europe's five are top-qualifier Yugoslavia, then European Championships finishers in order, Turkey, Spain, Germany and Russia.

Of those, New Zealand have in the past three years beaten Angola, Brazil, Canada and China - though the latter two did not put out their top sides. The Tall Blacks have pushed Russia close and were not disgraced against the USA "Dream Team" at the Olympics. Lebanon make their debut at world championships and have to be targets.

The money aspect will carry through to player pay packets. The international exposure means more will be able to earn overseas, playing Australian summer league or European and Asian winter leagues, then returning for our winter league. Phill Jones, Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Kirk Penney and Tony Rampton do that now.

The double-up and all-year play makes a pro career possible. But no one could see the great weekend result moving NZ Basketball League salaries much.

Remuneration ranges from petrol money and training and medical fees for starters to around $30,000 for a top "franchise" player a team is built around.

Only Cameron, the Tall Black captain, commands more.

The series win will do plenty to push New Zealand's case for a team in the Australian league.

That plan's backer, Auckland team part-owner and BBNZ board member Ian Shaw, is also after money to make that a reality.

Shaw has agreement in principle from the Australians for a Kiwi team. The start-up licence fee is $A1 million ($1.2 million) and anything up to another $A2.5 million will be needed for travel, player payments and organisational structure.

Across the Tasman, the Age in Melbourne began its report of the Auckland caning with the line, "The unthinkable has happened."

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Boomers coach Phil Smyth - curiously enough on court when NZ won their only other game of 38 against Australia 67-65 in 1978 - as saying he knew critics would call for his head.