KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand women's basketball team will compete at a third consecutive Olympics Games at Beijing next year.
The Tall Ferns lost heavily to Australia but beat Fiji in the Oceania championship at Dunedin two months and the New Zealand Olympic Committee selectors today said it believed the team were capable of progressing beyond pool play at Beijing next year.
The Tall Ferns are currently ranked 16th in the world.
"We are confident the team is capable of a strong finish in Beijing," said NZOC secretary general and selector, Barry Maister.
"The Tall Ferns delivered an excellent result at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 and have improved their performance since then.
"They won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne last year and recorded a very close result against seventh-ranked Cuba recently."
Maister will hope the Tall Ferns' selection doesn't have the ramifications of 2004.
Long-time selector Bruce Cameron resigned, saying he was "upset and disgusted" as the women's team selection was undeserved.
However, the Tall Ferns punched above their weight in Athens, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to eventual silver medalists Australia.
An intensive build-up programme is planned for the team next year.
They will contest the pre-Olympic test event in Beijing from April 19-26 against the United States, Australia, Korea, Cuba and China.
Basketball New Zealand will name the individual players next year.
- NZPA
