Finn Delany will captain the Tall Blacks against Australia in the first round of world cup qualification. Photo: Jeremy Ward/Photosport
Boomers v Tall Blacks
Friday, 28 November
Tip-off 9.30pm
MyState Bank Arena, Hobart, Tasmania
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
The road to the 2027 FIBA World Cup starts for the Tall Blacks against their closest rivals in Hobart.
Home and away games against the Australian Boomers begin a qualification process that will stretch 16 months with the end goal being the Tall Blacks attending the Basketball World Cup for the eighth time.
The games between two teams that know each other well will be the fourth and fifth times that they have played each other this year.
History
Taylor Britt of the Tall Blacks v Australia Boomers, Trans-Tasman Throwdown in May. Photo: Jeremy Ward/Photosport
The Tall Blacks won 106-97 the last time they played Australia in May in Hamilton in the third game of the Trans-Tasman Throwdown. The Australians won the first two games of the series on their home court.
Before the revival of a Trans-Tasman series this year, it had been three years since the Tall Blacks and Boomers had played each other.
Over time, the Boomers have dominated the Tall Blacks. Wins for the New Zealanders are rare and the last time the Tall Blacks won twice in a single year against the neighbours was nearly two decades ago in 2006.
The Tall Blacks had one win in the 1970s, did not beat the Australians in the 1980s or 1990s, won again in 2001 - twice, then again in 2004, two wins from five games in 2006, once in 2007 and 2009, the Boomers were once again dominant from 2011 to 2020. A win in 2020 for the Tall Blacks was followed by losses in 2021 and 2022.
Form
The Tall Blacks were last in action four months ago at the Asia Cup where they finished fourth.
New Zealand won four games in group play, then lost the semi-final against China and the third place play-off against Lebanon.
Australia won the Asia Cup in August, going through the tournament undefeated. The one-point win over China in the final sealed the Boomers as three-time Asia Cup champions.
In the last world cup Asian qualifiers the Boomers won 11 of their 12 games.
On FIBA rankings Australia are number six in the world compared to New Zealand at number 25.
The Boomers are the top-ranked side in the Asia region and the Tall Blacks are third in the region behind Japan.
Format
Tall Blacks vs Montenegro FIBA World Cup 2019 Photo: Photosport
A total of 80 countries are working towards qualifying for the 32 spots at the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar.
New Zealand and Australia are among the 16 teams in the Asia/Oceania group that will eventually be whittled down to seven teams from the region that qualify for the pinnacle event.
The other teams in the group are China, Chinese Taipei, Guam, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Lebanon, Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Syria.
Qatar automatically qualify as hosts but sit outside the seven allocated qualifying spots.
The first round of qualifying begins this week and continues in February and July next year. Twelve of the 16 teams progress to the second round of qualifying in August and November 2026 and March 2027.
The top seven teams will then compete in the world cup alongside five teams from Africa, seven from the Americas and 12 from Europe in the tournament that starts in August 2027.
What they are saying
Tall Blacks coach Judd Flavell says it's "absolutely" important to start the qualification process strongly.
Flavell scouts the NBL players regularly as part of his current assistant coach role with the Breakers.
"There will be no secrets I'm sure but that goes both ways, [Boomers coach] Dean Vickerman sitting on the side and he was here in New Zealand for a bunch of time and we worked together for eight, nine years so there is a lot of familiarity there.
"It will bring out the best in both teams for sure".
Tall Blacks centre Tyrell Harrison has not played for New Zealand this year yet and the Brisbane Bullets big man is clear about who will win the upcoming games against the Boomers.
"I feel like it's going to be two very good games and I reckon we'll come up with both - have to."
Forward Yanni Wetzell believes the Tall Blacks have an advantage for this window they have not had before.
"We've got some serious height this time around, we've got big Tyrell who is a 7-footer and Sam Mennenga who plays the five for the Breakers he's had a great season, Tohi [Smith-Milner] brings a lot of size it's exciting for us. We're usually a nation that's up against much taller players and we have to bring different elements of our game to be able to compete, it's kind of attests to the talent and growth of the game in New Zealand there is so many guys coming through with size and ability it's an exciting time for New Zealand basketball."
Rosters
Tall Blacks: Jackson Ball, Taylor Britt, Flynn Cameron, Carlin Davison, Finn Delany, Tyrell Harrison, Mojave King, Izayah Le'afa, Sam Mennenga, Taine Murray, Tohi Smith-Milner, Yanni Wetzell.
Boomers: Josh Bannan, Dash Daniels, Alex Ducas, Owen Foxwell, Jaylin Galloway, Angus Glover, Will Hickey, Jordan Hunter, Nick Kay, Elijah Pepper, Keanu Pinder, Jack White.
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