Basketball: NZ teams unimpressed by poor standard

The poor standard of basketball opponents at the Commonwealth Games is causing headaches for the New Zealand men's and women's teams.

With finals against Australia looking increasingly likely, the Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns have become frustrated by the one-sided wins that have marked their Games campaigns so far.

Last night the men hammered Barbados to complete their group with three wins from three while the women thrashed Malaysia 113-56 for their second win by more than 60 points.

The Tall Ferns face unbeaten Nigeria in their final pool match tonight, which will be their toughest challenge but they should still win by a handy margin.

Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin said it was hard for his side -- who had limited Games preparation -- to make the sort of progress they require.

"We haven't been overly helped by the quality of the competition," Baldwin said.

"Some of these teams are tough, physical, strong and experienced but you can tell by the style of play that we're up against that there's not a lot of cohesion.

"It doesn't help you develop the mental side of your game when you're having to adjust and counter what the opponent is doing.

"Frankly they're just out there playing. They're playing according to their skill level but there's not a lot of planning and strategy going on."

Baldwin said Barbados were allowed to get away with too much over-physical play under the basket last night so the team adopted an outside shooting policy. It paid off as three guards topped the scoring -- Troy McLean topping it with 20, including six three-pointers, while Lindsay Tait had 14 and Aaron Olson 13.

Tall Ferns coach Mike McHugh had had his eye closely on Australia. He admitted it would be a quantum leap from pool play to a final against the Opals.

"Hopefully we'll get a tough game (against Nigeria) and a tough semifinal, that couldn't be better preparation," he said, keen to not write off tonight's opponents.

"They're big, strong, athletic and like to play the game at a high tempo. It's obviously our crunch game so we have to make sure we're ready to adjust to their style."

McHugh was delighted with the contribution last night of 20-year-old forward Lisa Wallbutton, who was productive with scoring 21 points and contributing around the court.

However, the coach admitted their prospects in the big games would rest largely with the skill of guard Angela Marino and captain Donna Loffhagen.

Barring major upsets New Zealand and Australia will be on opposite sides of the draw for both the men's and women's semifinals, with trans-Tasman showdowns the logical conclusion to both.

- NZPA