AUCKLAND (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - New Zealand have announced Auckland and Rotorua as two host cities for their June and July window fixtures of the Asian Qualifiers.

The Tall Blacks will open their third window campaign on June 28 opposite Hong Kong at the Energy Events Centre in Rotorua before raising the curtain on their matchup against China on July 1 at the Spark Arena in Auckland.

Both venues are being meticulously prepared by their respective local organizing committees to ensure that they will meet the FIBA's standards.

"To host the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, we need to meet FIBA requirements to ensure the games are going to be world class in both the arenas and through the broadcast," said Chief Executive of Basketball New Zealand Iain Potter. "Both facilities have worked hard by investing in future games and meeting those requirements, including specified score boards, shot clocks and backstop units."

The Tall Blacks' first third window game in Energy Events Centre will be a landmark affair, especially because it will be the first time in four years for Rotorua fans to see the national team play in the flesh.

"The Tall Blacks haven’t played in the Bay of Plenty since 2014 when they took on Korea in Tauranga, so we’re looking forward to returning to the region," Potter added. "It’s also exciting for us to help showcase one of New Zealand’s greatest tourist venues through what is a global event, these FIBA World Qualifier games are a big deal worldwide."

Up to 3,500 fans will be able to see the Tall Blacks in Rotorua, but a whopping 9,500 will be able to pack the Spark Arena in Auckland three days after. Basketball New Zealand are expecting an electric atmosphere there, mainly because of the sizable Chinese expat community in the city.

"A quick check of the 2013 census showed 112,290 people of Chinese ethnicity living in Auckland, so team China will undoubtedly have strong support in the city," Potter explained. "The national Chinese basketball team is also the most supported team in their country. The players are superstars there and attract some of China’s biggest television audiences."

In 2015 for example, the most viewed sports event in China was the FIBA Asia Basketball Championships with 339 million viewers on their public free-to-air television channel, CCTV. The final of that competition between China and the Philippines attracted 38.7 million viewers. And of course, with the travelling support that follows this China team around, we expect Spark Arena will be jumping.

Though Potter expects a significant chunk of the Spark Arena to be composed of red-clad Chinese supporters, he is still hopeful that Auckland, being very supportive of basketball, will also have a lot of fans cheering for the home team.

"Of course Auckland is also the home of the SKYCITY Breakers – basketball support runs deep there," he said. "I’m sure we’ll see plenty of black and white balancing out the sea of red in the stands, especially considering the calibre of this event."

Prior to the third window games, however, New Zealand still have to take care of business in the second window this month. The Tall Blacks will have back-to-back road games as they play China in Dingguan on 23 February before trying to break their Korean curse in Seoul on 26 February.

FIBA