From Asia to Oceania

MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - What a great week or so it was following the FIBA Asia Championship, and what a great thing that it was held in such a basketball-mad city as Manila!

While some might say the tournament had a predictable finish with Iran claiming gold, the journey to the finish line was anything but predictable.

The guessing game as to when Yi Jianlian would return from injury and if China would ‘click’, the offensive outbursts from Chinese Taipei, the re-emergence of Qatar under Tom Wisman and some of the slick ball they played.

I won’t soon forget the heart of Jordan to be so competitive despite missing many key players, nor the way Korea turned on some brilliant fast-paced basketball in the knockout rounds to earn their spot at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

Of course, any time the Philippines appeared in the Mall of Asia Arena was a great event, they played such an entertaining brand of basketball and their fans rode every moment.

Mighty mouse

Probably my favourite player to watch was Jason Castro (listed as Jayson William), whom Australia fans would know from his signing with the NBL’s Singapore Slingers just months before they pulled out of the Aussie competition.

His recruitment was met with much fanfare in Singapore and Philippines, and after watching him through this tournament I can see why.

His speed, toughness, sweet pull-up shooting and remarkable ability to finish in traffic at his height - or lack thereof - was super impressive.

I would be very happy if an NBL club one day decided to bring him Downunder. He wouldn’t be a star, but he would be a very handy player and a certain fan favourite.

Bosman?

With FIBA Asia and FIBA Oceania coming together for future FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers, it had me wondering if our part of the world will have its own version of the Bosman Rule, allowing someone like Castro to play in Australia as a non-restricted player.

It’s an interesting proposition. If the same amount of player movement was allowed through Asia as there is in Europe what would the effect be?

It might allow clubs in weaker basketball nations to strengthen their teams and become more competitive, opening the way for a genuine continental club competition.

On the flipside, it might just allow richer nations in Asia to pinch the best talent and further weaken their smaller neighbours.

It’s definitely investigating the pros and cons.

FIBA Asia Pacific

Watching the Asian champs certainly got me excited about the prospect of the Boomers and Tall Blacks playing in FIBA Asia Pacific to earn a spot in the World Cup from 2017 onwards.

Playing in effectively a two-horse race every two years against a very familiar opponent doesn’t help our teams learn the intricacies of international basketball, ie how to play against different styles of opponents in hostile venues.

While on current form both Oceania nations would be right at the peak of Asia, the challenge of playing some of these very capable teams on their own dunghill will be a real test. Hopefully it will extend to some underage qualifiers too.

Business at hand

Of course for now, the Boomers, Tall Blacks, Opals and Tall Ferns are solely focused on being number one Downunder.

The women are battling it out for a spot in Turkey, and while the Opals may have some growing pains as they adjust to new coach Brendan Joyce’s system, the lack of preparation and unavailability of several senior players means the Tall Ferns will be doing well just to be competitive.

As much as they will be showing that undeniable Kiwi spirit to try and win, in the back of his mind coach Kennedy Kereama will know this series is as much about developing for the future as qualifying for Turkey.

Young TBs

The Tall Ferns aren’t the only New Zealand team bringing the schoolkids, with several debutants for the Tall Blacks needing a note from mum to miss school for the series!

With the likes of Kirk Penney, Steve Adams, Lindsay Tait, Isaac Fotu, Tai Webster and Rob Loe unavailable, coach Nenad Vucinic pulled out some unknown names for the team’s preparatory tour, where they were also missing starters Alex Pledger and Tom Abercrombie.

With all in sundry predicting thrashings galore as they faced the Philippines, China (twice), Cameroon (twice) and some club teams on an nine-game swing, the ‘Baby Blacks’ won five of their outings.

Towering 2.09m 17-year-old Jack Salt certainly made an impact, as did 16-year-old point guard Izayah Le’afa.

More impressively, the formerly wayward duo of BJ Anthony and Corey Webster stood up as the stars of the team. It will be fascinating to see how they go against a talented Australian team featuring eight Olympians.

Keep it the same?

New coach Andrej Lemanis has kept the nucleus of the team that finished seventh in London, not taking them on a pre-Oceania tour but relying on consistency to guide them past the old foe.

It is a very strong side, one who knows each other well, and the only real change will perhaps be a bit more unpredictability on defense, which was obvious in the development teams Lemanis led in the Sino-Australian challenge, Stankovic Cup and World University Games.

Probably my only beef with the team is the absence of Chris Goulding.

A slightly late bloomer, the 24-year-old had a breakout NBL season for the Melbourne Tigers and showed he could put points on the board in a hurry for the Boomers in the Sino-Australian challenge.

While Lemanis pointed to some defensive deficiencies, there are a couple of other notable players in this team who need to be covered for defensively but are picked because they can put the ball in the hole.

Given the scoring issues the Boomers faced under Brown’s guidance, it would have been nice to see Goulding get a chance to prove his worth ahead of next year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

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