Basketballers will be playing for pride

Press, 9 July 1986, Page 31

Basketballers will be playing for pride

NZPA special correspondent Tenerife, Canary Islands

. The New Zealand men’s basketball team will be playing for pride when it confronts another awesome combination, Canada, at the world championships at Tenerife to- • day.

' New Zealand had a rest day yesterday to recover from the opening matches, which produced losses to Yugoslavia and the Netherlands.

This has probably eliminated New Zealand from finishing in the first three of its section and . qualifying for top-12 post--section play. The No. 24 seed, New Zealand now needs not . only to beat Malaysia, of which it is definitely capable, and Argentina, which is possible, but also have other upset results to leave teams tied for third with two wins apiece.

New Zealand will not beat Canada which at present looks a better-per-formed team than Yugos-

lavia, which beat the Kiwis by 38 points first up-

The national coach, Bob Bishop, of Christchurch, said his side had not lost interest in the week-long tournament just because it had been beaten twice.

“We haven’t flagged things away. We are here playing for our pride and to learn,” he said. Mr Bishop wants the players to use the Canadian game as an opportunity to extend concentration for the full 40 minutes. New Zealand has wilted in the closing quarter of both games so far. “We have got to discipline ourselves for the full period and produce another respectable scoreline.

“In the past two games we have not done things as well as I would have wanted near the finish,” New Zealand is still making adjustments to cope with the game at the highest level. The team, with the exception of the foward, Peter Pokai (Waitemata),

trained early yesterday afternoon. Pokai has felt off colour for the past two days.

The players then put their feet up at a beach near the capital Santa Cruz.

Meanwhile one of the Yugoslav players, Danko Cvjeticanin, aged 23, became the proud possessor of a new Alfa Romeo car for a successful halfway shot.

Cvjeticanin made the toss at the end of the team’s match against Malaysia and it sailed unswervingly into the basket

His prize , which is worth more than $20,000, was avaiable only to the first player at the sixteam section to perform the feat. First round results:— Group A: Spain beat Greece, 87-86 (half-time 4341). Group B: Soviet Union beat Israel, 114-77 (58-36). Group C: United States beat West Germany, 81-68 (47-39). Group D: Canada beat Argentina, 96-82 (51-30).