Basketball: Time out for coach in shock

Losing is not something an Australian team often suffers, and when it happened yesterday Boomers' coach Phil Smyth headed for a quiet dressing room to sit alone, head in hands.

Smyth struggled to come to terms with the Tall Blacks' decisive victory, the fact that his side would be in the wilderness while New Zealand go to the world championships next year - and the certainty that his position as coach will be under pressure.

He had graciously offered congratulations to the winners and told his players to "get up and wish them luck, boys," as the Kiwis were presented with their winners medals. It was good spirit from a guy who looked as though he would rather catch a plane to Chile than Sydney.

He put the Tall Blacks' advantage down to time together, the retirements from the Boomers' fourth-finishing Sydney Olympic side, and fatigue at the end as his young players struggled.

"There are windows in every game. We had ours, but they made better use of theirs," Smyth said, applauding the Tall Blacks' game plan and execution.

"We got anxious at the end. We had players trying to do things by themselves."

He agreed that they had been frustrated by good defence. The series proved New Zealand deserved a place on the international stage, Smyth said. But he was reluctant to commit to future meetings.

"Why would we want to show them anything? Why would we want to help them to win the next Olympic spot?"