European basketball team reneges on Tall Ferns tour
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Loading... - Milan Klein
- 23 Sep 2022
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Basketball New Zealand thought they had a slam dunk.
Four international teams from Europe, North America and Australia headed to New Zealand this month for a series against a Tall Ferns. team that had not been on court in 12 months.
But the European World Cup-bound team came up with a late block, thwarting the tournament when it was decided a stop in New Zealand was no longer feasible.
Tall Ferns coach Guy Molloy said when one team pulled out it created a "domino effect" which left Basketball New Zealand searching for replacement competition.
Instead of three international teams at home the Tall Ferns will play three domestic sides in Australia next month.
That the team will get any games at all is thanks to Molloy's links to the WNBL in Australia where he first coached in the late 1980s through to mid-90s and then again for 10 seasons from 2013.
Calling on his contacts, Molloy helped the Tall Ferns secure games against WNBL sides - the Southside Flyers, Melbourne Boomers and Bendigo Spirit - over four games from 15-24 October.
"Thankfully the teams were pretty hungry because they are in pre-season and when we tour they'll be three weeks out from the start of their pro season.
"These three WNBL clubs play in one of the top women's leagues in the world. So this tour will help us to lay a foundation and give a ton more experience to our players, especially our emerging talent."
Not the international opposition that Molloy had hoped for, but he will take what he can get.
The Tall Ferns' last campaign was a fifth-place finish at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup and Molloy said it was vital that the team played against quality competition this year with the qualification for the 2024 Olympics on the horizon. Read More...
