KEY POINTS:
New Zealand basketball great Pero Cameron predicts his team will bounce back from their Olympic failure but he will not commit to being part of any revival.
The Tall Blacks were crushed 75-48 by hosts Greece in a lopsided qualifying tournament quarter-final in Athens on Saturday, ending their
Beijing Games dreams.
It also ended the team's run of involvement at every Olympics and world championships since the 2000 Games in Sydney.
A host of players either retired this year or were unavailable for New Zealand's 2008 campaign and it caught up with them against the well-drilled Greeks.
Cameron, 34, who produced some touches of old in an outgunned team, agreed that the likes of Mark Dickel, Paul Henare, Phill Jones, Dillon Boucher and Tony Rampton were badly missed.
But he cannot accept suggestions the Tall Blacks will now drop from sight and enter a period of rebuilding.
"It's up to all of us to make sure that we can stay at that top level," he said.
"We've got pretty big expectations. Yes, we've missed out on Beijing this year but there's the world champs in Turkey [in 2010] and we want to be part of that so we'll have a two-year programme now."
Whether Cameron, who has been a first-choice Tall Black for 15 years, is part of the equation is uncertain.
The burly forward would not comment on his future until he had returned home and spoken to those close to him.
There were hints that the 27-point defeat could be his last appearance as he directed praise at two fast-developing forwards - rebounding hustler Mika Vukona and skilled big man Craig Bradshaw.
"I'm really proud of some of the guys in the team, all of them really, but a couple put their hand up and played really well, Vukona and Bradshaw."
He believed that pair could complement each other for several years alongside Kirk Penney, who is increasingly comfortable with the scoring demands placed on him.
After finding his range in the win over Cape Verde and the loss to Germany in pool play, Penney was shut down by the relentless Greeks and his nightmare return of one-from-11 three-point attempts saw New Zealand's offence nullified.
Despite overseeing a 4-7 win-loss record this year - with wins coming against moderate opposition from Lebanon, Canada, Iran and Cape Verde - New Zealand coach Nenad Vucinic was also confident about the future.
He said losing to Olympic medal prospects Germany and Greece was no disgrace, and the scoreline in both games did not do justice to how competitive his team had been.
"A lot of people doubted whether these guys could step up to this level now and they have," he said. "They didn't look out of their depth at all.
"We just have to believe in this team and give them a chance to prove they can perform at this level. There are encouraging signs for me."
Vucinic prayed Cameron would stay for the 2010 World Championships which New Zealand are likely to qualify for because Oceania has been granted two spots.
"I personally hope this isn't going to be the end. He's still playing very well, he's very well respected," Vucinic said.
"Everyone else here is pretty young.
"Kirk's been in the team for a long long time but he's only 28 so he's got quite a few years ahead of him."
Vucinic will not return home with the team today because he has duties with Estonian club Kalev/Cramo, with whom he has a two-year coaching contract.
- NZPA
