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MELBOURNE - The Tall Blacks' energy-sapping buildup for one of their most important basketball series of recent years is under scrutiny after Australia labelled it a key factor in their 79-67 win here on Monday night.
Both sides flew to Sydney today with the victorious Boomers firmly in control of the three-match series to decide Oceania's automatic qualifier for next year's Beijing Olympics.
After an 11-match tour of China and Europe spanning three weeks, the Tall Blacks touched down in Melbourne on Friday morning after a 40-hour travel marathon from Croatia via Frankfurt and Singapore.
Last night in game one they were several notches below the polished unit who shocked the hosts at the same Vodafone Arena just over a year ago for their first win on Australian soil.
"We definitely talked about it. We know how hard that European tour is, and to be on a plane for 40 hours," Boomers coach Brian Goorjian said.
"We thought we should be the fresher team, we gave up valuable time together so the guys would be freshened up."
A New Zealand loss in Sydney on Wednesday means a nightmare repechage tournament against European and South American sides next year, meaning the Tall Blacks' regular spot in the sport's elite tournaments is increasingly under threat.
They will at least have two extra nights' sleep before game two, but the tourists looked a deflated unit, having conceded valuable momentum.
Coach Nenad Vucinic rejected any suggestions their marathon team-building schedule put them at a disadvantage, saying he saw no difference between the sides in terms of freshness.
He was clear about where it was lost.
"We said before the game that pressure games like this will be won by the team that makes less turnovers, shoots the freethrows well and rebounds offensively, and we failed on all those three categories," he said, casting a sober glance at the match statistics sheet.
There were 18 New Zealand turnovers to Australia's seven, and just 16 successes from 25 attempts from the freethrow line, or 64 per cent.
The Boomers' freethrow success was 73 per cent, 16 from 22, while they were also superior from three-point range with 45 per cent success to the Tall Blacks' 33 per cent, just nine from 27.
New Zealand's regular topscorer in recent weeks, Kirk Penney, led the way with 20 points while fellow guard Mark Dickel was next best with 10. Captain Pero Cameron scored eight points but added five assists to help them shoot to a 31-25 lead in the second quarter.
But it turned quickly as the Boomers' defensive pressure, led by giant Russia-based centre David Andersen, forced poor shots and turnovers.
In the absence of injured NBA star Andrew Bogut, Andersen scored 20 points, captain Sam MacKinnon 18 and Sydney forward Glen Saville 16, while new teenage guard Patrick Mills was a handful as the game progressed.
Australia led 43-37 at halftime and were well in control at 59-46 with one quarter remaining.
"They pressured us, took us out of our offence, and we just didn't feel comfortable out there," Dickel said.
"We'll make some adjustments, we'll come back and do better. We just have to forget it and move on."
Dickel, New Zealand's key playmaker, showed flashes of solo brilliance but still looked short of top fitness after surgery on a herniated disc in his spine six months ago. He only returned to the starting lineup last week in Croatia.
- NZPA
