NEW ZEALAND - A young team with hope

Four years ago, the NZ Tall Ferns (as the national women's team are known) defied their critics - including many within their own country - to reach the Athens Olympic Quarter-Finals. But there is no point in comparing the roster that travels to Beijing in August with the one that performed with such distinction at the home of the Olympics. There are just two survivors from that campaign - three if you count coach Mike McHugh, then technical advisor to legendary Tom Maher.

In the intervening years, McHugh has had to rebuild the New Zealand women's programme after Maher was lured away to prepare the Chinese challenge on their home soil. Along the way, they have taken their lumps, especially at the hands of Oceania neighbours and World champions Australia, but the newcomers have shown themselves to be fast learners. They hinted at their potential by finishing within eight points of the Opals in Game Two of the 2005 FIBA Oceania Championships. At that stage, no New Zealand team had ever gotten closer to toppling the Aussie women. The following year, they challenged the Cubans on their home turf and claimed silver medals at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, falling in the final to Australia. In 2007, they upset world #12 Argentina and again gave #7 Cuba a scare. With Australia qualifying for Beijing as reigning world champions, New Zealand were able to claim an Olympic berth by beating Fiji at the Oceania Championships.

Like their predecessors, the Ferns had not totally convinced their Olympic selectors of their merits, but were duly confirmed in the national contingent and subsequently justified that faith with encouraging results at the Good Luck Beijing test event in April. They warmed up with a four-point loss to hosts China in Ningbo, yet again came within a few points of Cuba and let victory over Korea slip their fingers in the dying seconds. Amid the narrow misses came the scalp the Tall Ferns had waited decades for - the formidable Opals. Sure, this was not the full-strength Australian line-up, but it was virtually the same roster than had beaten the Kiwis by more than 40 points at the Oceania Championships last September and again just two weeks earlier in Canberra. "It was awesome," enthused McHugh, a native Australian, after the 63-59 result. "I don't think I've been associated with a New Zealand team that has played as well as they did tonight. We're delighted with the result, but it has been coming and it came against the right team. It's obviously a big moment in the Tall Fern programme."

At the core of their improvement is an unshakeable team spirit that the players identify as their biggest strength. Many of them have had the chance to play together and develop chemistry as members of the Christchurch Sirens, the NZ-based entry into the Australian WNBL last summer. Although they started the season 0-7 and failed to win on the road, the Sirens finished 9-15 and became a tough proposition at their Cowles Stadium home. The only team they failed to beat during their debut season were eventual champions Adelaide.

That opportunity to play at a consistently high level, week after week, has paid obvious dividends on the international stage. The Tall Ferns are built around point guard Angela Marino, an 18-year-old starter in Athens, and centre Jessica McCormack, who was just 15 when she debuted in 2005. McCormack's promise has been recognized around the world and will see her suit up for US college powerhouse Connecticut in the future. Captain Aneka Kerr is the other Olympian on call… she enjoyed her finest hour with a double double in New Zealand's win over China in pool play four years ago.

Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe (University of Buffalo), Natalie Purcell (Southeast Missouri State University) and Micaela Cocks (University of Oregon) are others with US college experience to draw on. But the programme received a huge boost earlier this year with the discovery of former and current Stanford University performers Clare Bodensteiner and Jillian Harmon. While both have grown up in the United States, Bodensteiner was born in New Zealand and Harmon's mother is a Kiwi. Harmon, who just days earlier had played in the NCAA final,  was the hero of the Ferns' win over Australia, contributing 17 points and 11 rebounds in her first trans Tasman clash. Perhaps the last word on the Kiwis belongs to Maher, who had the chance to coach against his old team at the Good Luck event. "This is a better team," he observed. "In Athens, we had two superstars [forwards Gina Farmer and Donna Loffhagen]… this team doesn't have the stars, but they do have more depth." And they are also a team on the rise. With an average age of 23, they truly have time on their side.