We continue our five-part scouting series with New Zealand, Gilas Pilipinas’ other group phase opponent in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila, Philippines.
NEW ZEALAND
FIBA Ranking: 21
Head Coach: Paul Henare
How They Got Here
New Zealand were swept by Australia in the 2015 FIBA Oceanias Championship series. The Aussies needed just two games to advance to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, leaving the Tall Blacks with a more daunting task in Manila.
New Zealand have not made the Olympic Games in 12 years. The team’s last appearance was back in 2004, when Tab Baldwin, now Gilas’ head coach, mentored the squad. Since then, it has been a futile ride for New Zealand. Winning the Manila OQT will give the country only its third appearance in the Olympics.
How They Play
Corey Webster is the go-to-guy for the Kiwis (FIBA.com)
New Zealand run their offense through Corey Webster, a do-it-all scoring guard who averaged 19 PPG on 24 field goal attempts/game in the 2015 FIBA Oceanias.
The Tall Blacks’ halfcourt sets usually start with a high post touch for their forwards like Thomas Abercrombie, Mika Vukona, or even Isaac Fotu and Rob Loe on one side of the court. This becomes a dribble hand-off for a guard — usually Jarrod Kenny or Webster. In other sets, the same frontliners set a pin-down screen instead to free the team’s guards on one side.
A guard or wing man then cuts to the baseline to reverse the ball, and that is where New Zealand start to penetrate. Like France, New Zealand do not take many threes. Instead, they attack the basket and try to set up big men for high-percentage shots. Fotu was one of the beneficiaries of this system, having averaged 9 PPG and 9 RPG in the 2015 FIBA Oceanias.
New Zealand, however, lack ball and player movement that could make the team more challenging for opposing defenses to guard. Instead, the team relies on the one-on-one abilities of Webster and their other starters. This may impact the team negatively in the Manila OQT.
Additions/Returnees, Losses, Projected Rotation
Tai Webter of the Tall Blacks (FIBA.com)
New Zealand will be without Reuben Te Rangi, Kirk Penney, Jarrod Kenny, Casey Frank, and Lindsey Tait, all regular rotation players who have played for either the 2014 FIBA World Cup or the 2015 FIBA Oceanias.
Returning is Corey’s younger brother Tai Webster, who last played for the World Cup two years ago. Without Penney, Kenny, Te Rangi, and Tait, expect the Webster brothers to have the highest usage in the backcourt.
A key addition is Mike Carena, an NCAA Division I player for the Wright State Raiders. The 6-foot-10 big averaged 9.9 PPG and 3.7 RPG for the Raiders last season.
Expect the Websters, Vukona, Abercrombie, and Fotu to get starting spots, with Loe and Carena as the first bigs off the bench. How Henare decides to shuffle the rest his bench though, with key absences in the guard spots, will be interesting.
Outlook
It will be a challenge for New Zealand in the group phase. They are not only facing a tough Philippines squad at home, but they will also have to score an upset against France. A win should get them advancing to the semi-finals, but teams in the other bracket are also powerful. This may not be the Kiwis’ best chance to end that Olympic drought.
