Basketball: Tall Blacks aim for close-in raids

Expect more forays into Australia's defensive hub by the Tall Blacks in the second international in Napier tonight.

The sight of a black singlet penetrating the keyhole on attack in the first test on Wednesday night was incredibly rare as the Boomers stacked their defence under the hoop with mountainous pair Andrew Bogut and Chris Anstey.

Tall Blacks' guard Mark Dickel said attacking the Boomers' defence on the inside was like "running in there against elephants", with a host of 2.1m forwards built like the proverbial brick outhouse to repel any raid.

The ploy, which the Tall Blacks expected, pushed their shooters out wide. Despite creating numerous shots, their trigger-fingers seized up searching for three-pointers.

Australia claimed an overtime 81-79 victory, striking the first blow in the four-match series through their superior height.

Tall Blacks' forward Dillon Boucher, who missed the opening clash with a leg injury, said New Zealand should not shy from launching close-in raids, otherwise it would allow the Australians to exploit their advantage even more.

"Australia played their card early. They put their two big guys in the middle and said, 'If you're coming inside, you have to shoot over or through these guys'," Boucher said.

"That's going to be their game plan through the world champs because they have two quality big men.

"But you need a balanced game and we talked about not having any sign of weakness. If we're going to live and die by the three-pointer, then our inside game will be our weakness, but I truly believe we have enough guys who can get to the rim and play well inside.

"When you have two guys over seven-foot waiting for you, it makes it a lot tougher, but hopefully you'll see us attacking the hoop more."

Boucher, who has overcome leg bruising suffered in last Saturday's National Basketball League final, said that in Craig Bradshaw and Casey Frank, New Zealand had the arsenal to chip away at the Boomers, which would occupy some defence and create open shots.

It would also help to tie up Anstey, the Australian National Basketball League MVP, who defensively was rarely pushed and enjoyed a field day taking 11 rebounds.

However, despite Anstey's dominance - he contributed a game-high 24 points - Boucher felt New Zealand were ready to make further strides.

Their defence restricted the influence of NBA star Bogut, while the Boomers relied on some individual flashes of brilliance and New Zealand's wayward shooting to sneak through.

Dickel sided with Boucher in believing the impact of Australia's marquee players could be limited.

"Bogut's a good player and so is Anstey, but it really doesn't make a difference. One player doesn't dictate the game."

The inclusion of debutante Ben Hill and fellow forward Boucher are the only changes to the playing roster.

After tonight's match, coach Tab Baldwin will trim his 14-man squad by two for the remainder of the series in Australia, and the South American tour ahead of next month's world champs.

- NZPA