Basketball sides face stiff task

Press, 1 May 1981, Page 24

Basketball sides face stiff task

New Zealand’s men’s and women’s basketball sides can expect stiff competition when they attend their respective William R. Jones International basketball tournaments later this year. The New Zealand Basketball Federation yesterday announced the other countries that would attend the invitation tournaments in Taiwan. Both the men’s and women’s competitions have been increased to 14 teams. In the men’s tournament, from July 18-31, the Republic of Korea, Austria, Sweden, Singapore, England, Kuwait, the United States, the Philippines, Dominica, Colombia, Hong Kong and two Taiwanese sides will compete with New Zealand. In the women’s tournament, from July 1-14, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, Singapore, England, the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Guatemala, West Germany, Thailand and two Taiwanese teams will take part with the New Zealand women.

The N.Z.B.F.’s executive officer, Mr Joe McLeod, said that both teams would be looking to improve on their placings last year. At last year’s fourth international tournament the men finished third equal and the women fifth.

It was likely that both sides would be putting a lot more pressure on their opponents at this year’s tournament, Mr McLeod said.

This would be possible as this year, for the first time, players would have the benefit of an air-conditioned stadium in the 30-degree-plus heat.

Teams at both tournaments were either national squads or All-star selections, according to Mr McLeod. Last year’s winner of the men’s tournament, Sweden, which had a number of top American players in its squad, is again expected to be strong.

Mr McLeod said that a few New Zealand playerl might take some time t<j adapt to playing condition! in Taiwan.

Besides the heat, the fans (around 15,000 at soma games) were fanatical sup* porters of the sport irj Taiwan, he said. This meant 4 for example that when Nevi Zealand narrowly beat 4 home team last year it needed a police escort t<£ leave the stadium while ths team was pelted with coins by the crowd.

An irony of announcement was that ij came just days after the* death of the man the tournament had been intended to honour. . William R. Jones, the secretary-general emerituO of the international basketball movement, F.1.8.A., died last week in Munich. Mr Jones was described by Mr McLeod as the “father o’fl modern day basketball.” “He wrote and compiled a lot o@ the rules of the game as we know it today,” Mr McLeod said. This is the second year that New Zealand has sent teams to the tournament. This country’s teams travelling costs will be subsidised by the Taiwanese who will! pay the N.Z.B.F. a ?U532,00(J travel subsidy and provide accommodation and food for two 16-member parties. The senior men’s and women’s teams will not be the only national teams travelling overseas this year. Mr McLeod said that the federation had given a “green light” to plans by the national junior women’s team coach, Mr Basil Marsh, of Tauranga, to take hiss team to the west coast oE North America in November. He said the team would probably consist largely ofi last year’s under-20 squad and would probably visit the state of Washington and Canada between November 22 and December 15.