Tall Blacks welcome intimidating World Cup draw

Guard Mark Dickel in action for the Tall Blacks against the United States at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Photo: Photosport

The Tall Blacks have drawn the United States and European powerhouses Greece in a daunting pool at this year’s Basketball World Cup.

Jordan will be the fourth member of an intimidating group, drawn at a FIBA event in Manila on Sunday, with New Zealand starting at a sizeable task to advance through their pool.

All of the Group C matches are in Pasay, in the Philippines, with New Zealand facing the Olympic champion USA first up on August 26, followed by games against Greece and Jordan, both spaced two days apart.

Basketball New Zealand’s chief executive Dillon Boucher, who was in attendance in the Phillipines, welcomed the high-profile nature of the draw.

“Jordan is a familiar foe for us (from Asian World Cup qualifying), while USA is arguably the most talented team in the world and Greece is led by possibly the best player in the world in (Milwaukee Bucks NBA star) Giannis Antetokounmpo,” Boucher said.

“We know we’ve got our work cut out for us but we accept and embrace the challenge.”

Antetokoumpo has yet to confirm whether he’ll play for Greece, though he has expressed his desire to do so.

The US will be coached by Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who replaces the retired Gregg Popovich, who led the side to a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Long-serving Tall Blacks player Boucher said the current team would be inspired by the challenge in front of them.

“As a player you always want to be challenged by the best teams and we know Greece and USA especially will give us that test in the first round. And Manila is a fantastic base to play from with passionate fans and a great arena, so the atmosphere is going to be incredible.

“It’ll now be up to coach Pero [Cameron] to assemble the best Tall Blacks squad possible to face these teams and battle their way into the second round.”

Groups for the FIBA World Cup:

Group A: Italy, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Angola

Group B: South Sudan, Serbia, China, Puerto Rico

Group C: United States, Jordan, Greece, New Zealand

Group D: Egypt, Mexico, Montenegro, Lithuania

Group E: Germany, Finland, Australia, Japan

Group F: Slovenia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Venezuela

Group G: Iran, Spain, Ivory Coast, Brazil

Group H: Canada, Latvia, Lebanon, France

– RNZ