Basketball: Double blow for Tall Blacks

An ankle injury has ruled Pero Cameron out of the series against Australia. Photo / Getty Images

A double blow for the Tall Blacks ahead of the Oceania Championship basketball series against Australia.

An ankle injury will keep veteran Pero Cameron on the sidelines, while Craig Bradshaw is also missing due to club commitments in South Korea

Coach Nenad Vucinic says Cameron was desperate to return, but his fitness is still a concern and he feels the 35-year-old would have increased the chances of doing further damage.

"We'd rather have him get a good preparation, get a good recovery, have a good season and hopefully come back next year," Vucinic said.

Meanwhile, a change in attitude has helped forward BJ Anthony earn a recall to the Tall Blacks. Anthony has replaced Jeremiah Trueman in the only change to the team which recently toured Europe.

Vucinic says Anthony has made mistakes and learned from them.

"Over the last few years Anthony's seemed rather unwilling to control his weight and didn't train well, but from what I've heard that attitude has changed a lot".

It is a youthful-looking Tall Blacks basketball side that has been named to contest the Oceania Championship. The average age of the squad is just 24.

Despite being rank outsiders, Vucinic remains positive about their chances.

"Obviously we are always underdogs when we play Australia, but we're definitely not afraid to play them and we're looking forward to the challenge".

New Zealand plays away to the Boomers on Sunday before hosting the return leg in Wellington next Tuesday. The winner of the series gets direct qualification to the world championships next year in Turkey.

Tall Blacks squad
Tom Abercrombie, BJ Anthony, Michael Fitchett, Casey Frank, Leon Henry, Jarrod Kenny, Rob Loe, Kirk Penney (captain), Alex Pledger, Lindsay Tait, Mika Vukona, Corey Webster.

- NEWSTALK ZB