Basketball: Tall Blacks grouped with world champs

The Tall Blacks have been drawn with Spain, France, Lithuania, Canada and Lebanon at next year’s World Championships. Photo / Dean Purcell

New Zealand's Tall Blacks basketball team have drawn defending champions Spain in pool play at next year's FIBA World Championship for Men in Turkey.

In the official draw ceremony in Istanbul last night New Zealand ended up in Pool D alongside the titleholders, European powerhouses France and Lithuania, Canada and Lebanon.

They also landed in the coastal town of Izmir for their early fixtures.

"No section is easy," said Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic. "We have three top-level teams in Spain, France and Lithuania, and while Canada and Lebanon are also tough teams, we have beaten them in the past."

The Tall Blacks beat both Canada and Lebanon in North America, en route to last year's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece. But they have also suffered two heavy losses to the Canadians in the past two years.

Vucinic's assessment of the draw focused very much on the third grouping, where Australia, American champions Brazil, Puerto Rico and Canada were to be distributed among the four pools.

The Australians' higher seeding was somewhat bewildering given the result of this year's FIBA Oceania Championships, where the Tall Blacks pulled off a stunning series victory and thought they had secured the zone's top spot.

"But that's just the way it is," rues Vucinic. "We knew we couldn't get Australia from that group and didn't want to get with Brazil.

"We wanted Puerto Rico or Canada and that's what we got."

By comparison, Australia have ended up in Pool A with Argentina, Serbia, Germany, Angola and Jordan, possibly the toughest of the four groups.

"I don't think our section is as tough as theirs, but it's pretty hard to look at it 10 months out when you don't know who will be in each team with injuries and availability."

Vucinic and his staff will now begin gathering intelligence on their opponents, and he already has insight into the coaching styles of his European counterparts.

"I am not that familiar with the coach of Lebanon, but I will be, and of course we know Canada pretty well."

Located on Aegean coast, Izmir is Turkey's third most-populated city with 3.8 million people and second biggest port after Istanbul.

- NZPA