Basketball: Tall order for busy hoopsters

Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) hope to sew up their international programme for the Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns by next month with Argentina and Canada targeted to visit after the crucial world championship qualifiers against Australia.

The Tall Blacks play in the Goodwill Games in Brisbane in September and will ideally play a three-test series against either Canada or Argentina before taking on the Australian Boomers three times for the right to represent Oceania at the world championships next year.

The Tall Ferns will play the Olympic silver medallist Opals in a best-of-three series to make the women's world championships while the Goodwill Games are being played.

BBNZ want the national sides to play six tests at home to cash in on the exposure gained at the Sydney Olympics.

A number of countries have been approached to tour, with the Canadian and Argentinian men's teams the most likely as they are also competing at the Goodwill Games.

BBNZ hope either team will play here on the way home to tune up the Tall Blacks for the monumental task of toppling Australia, who finished fourth at the Olympics.

The Tall Ferns would play their series after the trans-Tasman clash, with Canada or Argentina also their favoured opponents.

BBNZ will announce soon the assistant coach and manager to work alongside new Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin and Tracy Carpenter, who has taken over as coach of the Tall Ferns.

- NZPA