DUNEDIN (FIBA Oceania Championship for Women) - The NZ Tall Ferns took care of the easy part, securing a spot at next year’s Beijing Olympics with a 118-31 win over Fiji at the FIBA Oceania Championships in Dunedin.

Now they face a much tougher challenge – convincing the New Zealand selectors they are capable of progressing to the Olympic quarterfinals, as they did in Athens three years ago.

“We’re delighted,” confirmed coach Mike McHugh. “Basketball is played in 213 countries and only 12 teams get to the Olympics.

“To qualify is quite a thrill and I’m sure the players will be excited about it too. What we must do now, if we get there, is to put on a performance that Kiwis will be proud of.”

While the South Pacific champions were again gallant in defeat, as they were against Australian the previous night, the result was probably a foregone conclusion. Unlike the Opals, though, the Ferns were in no mood for charity after their disappointing display against the world champions on opening night.

Centre Jess McCormack opened the scoring when she converted one of two from the line, then made both when given another opportunity seconds later. By the time Seini Dobui put Fiji’s first points on the board midway through the opening quarter, the Ferns were already in double figures.

The islanders were noticeably less intimidated by their hosts than they were by the Aussies and once into their offence, created some opportunities. Their problem was getting the ball up court under pressure, committing nine turnovers in the period.

By the end of it, New Zealand had run up a 29-7 advantage and capitalized on another mid-court steal to put local girl Toni Edmondson in for her first points after the restart. With ample space to operate, another feature of the Ferns’ play was their distribution skills with Lisa Pardon and Natalie Purcell combining nicely on a couple of occasions.

McCormack brought up her team’s 50th point from the line shortly before halftime and the Kiwis kept Fiji scoreless through the first 8m 20s of the term before Leilani Saukawa broke the drought with a trey. At the break, the Tall Ferns led 50-12, their young centre contributing 10 points.

The Fijians emerged from locker room and immediately showed they would be more competitive in the third quarter, scoring first through captain Sera Colata.

But McHugh took the opportunity to give back-up centre Karlene Kingi a decent run and she responded with 10 points (5/5 FG) in the period.   

It took New Zealand nearly 32 minutes to register their first three-pointer (to Angela Marino), having missed 12 previous attempts from the arc. Pardon brought up their ton with their second in the dying minutes and Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe beat the final buzzer with another off Pardon’s 10th assist of the game.

Kingi, who had not moved off the bench against Australia, continued to make the most of her opportunity, leading all scorers with 20 points (10/10 FG) and grabbing eight rebounds. The Tall Ferns limited their turnovers to just 11, promoted eight scorers into double figures and shot 86.4% (19/22) FG for their 41 points through the final term.

“Our focus was on trying to have quality about what we did, that there was good execution of skills and good execution of our system,” said McHugh. “The scoreline was irrelevant … we tried to play as we would against Australia and not lower our performance because of the opponent.

“For a lot of the game, we achieved that.”

Colata, as she had against the Opals, showed her ability for 15 points (5/9 FG, 1/2 FT).

The Kiwis now take on the Opals in the series final on Saturday, desperate to improve on their previous performance against them. They will definitely front without guard Noni Wharemate, diagnosed with a prolapsed disc in her back, and probably co-captain Jody Tini, who sprained an ankle at practice during the team’s rest day.

 

FIBA Oceania Championships

NZ Tall Ferns 118 (Karlene Kingi 20, Angela Marino 16, Jess McCormack 14, Natalie Purcell 12, Lisa Wallbutton 12, Lisa Pardon 11, Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe 11, Aneka Kerr 10)
Fiji 31 (Sera Colata 15)

Quarter 29-7

Halftime 50-12 (21-5)

Threequarter 77-25 (27-13)

Fulltime 118-31 (41-6)


Grant Chapman