New Zealand Basketball Team: What prediction for the 2023 World Cup?
by Steve Ashfield | by Steve Ashfield
New Zealand Basketball Team: What prediction for the 2023 World Cup?
How will the Tall Blacks (don't you just love that name?) get on in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup? Just like their rugby union counterparts, they perform the Haka before their matches begin but will that strike fear into the opposition?
They haven't enjoyed a great deal of success in previous World Cup tournaments. What can they achieve in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup that's being held in the Philippines, Idonesia and Japan? Read on to discover our views.
Tough Task for the Tall Blacks
New Zealand are currently 26th in the world rankings but had few problems in qualifying for the World Cup. Playing in the Asian qualifiers, they finished top of both the groups they played in to book their place in the finals.
It's 21 years since they had their best ever performance in the World Cup finals. On that occasion they finished in fourth place but performances since then haven't been so impressive. That's the only time they have managed a top ten finish and in the last four tournaments hae only secured a top 15 place once. Four years ago they finished 19th just ahead of Turkey who they beat by a single point.
Now they hope to do better this time around but the draw has not been at all kind to them. New Zealand are in Group C with the USA and Greece (both ranked in the top ten) and Jordan.
At the last Commonwealth Games held in 2018, the Tall Blacks won the bronze medal. They repeated that achievement in the Asia Cup that was held last year. While they are able to achieve some success at that level, doing so in this upcoming World Cup isn't going to be so easy.
Their coach is Pero Cameron and he was pleased with how a recent training camp went. "It's been really good energy," he said and was particularly impressed with some of the newer players.
Isaac Fotu (above) will be playing in his third straight World Cup. Reuben Te Rangi (pictured below) will be playing in the World Cup finals for the first time. He missed the 2019 tournament through injury.
New Zealand have played two matches this August on their tour of Japan. The first match on August 2 saw them lose to the Japanese national team 79-72. It went much better six days later though with a 94-75 victory. Their World Cup preparations continue with games against Canada in the FIBA SuperCup followed by FIBA Solidarity Cup matches against China and Italy. They will be hoping for some good performances, to boost their confidence. How they get on will also determine the final squad of 12 players that will play in the World Cup.
Basketball World Cup 2023 - New Zealand's Fixtures
- Saturday 26 August vs USA - Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay (Philippines)
- Monday 28 August v Jordan - Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay
- Wednesday 30 August v Greece - Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay
You can keep up to date with the latest scores on our Sportytrader Livescore Page.
What Bets to Make on New Zealand in the 2023 Basketball World Cup?
Just what bets should you consider placing on New Zealand in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup? Bet365 have them at odds of 251.00 to lift the new trophy that the 32 countries are playing for. You can see all the World Cup prices on our dedicated World Cup odds page.
Only the most patriotic supporter of the Tall Blacks would consider placing a bet on them to win the World Cup. Betting with your heart is never a good idea though, so we don't recommend betting on them to lift the trophy.
They are in Group C and the top two go into the second round. The odds of New Zealand winning the group are 41.00 at bet365 with the USA at 1.08 (they are the favorites to win the cup), Greece 7.50 and Jordan at 81.00.
New Zealand are 1.03 at bet365 to be eliminated in the group stages. That's not going to win you a fortune but perhaps it could be put in an accumulator. If they can get out of their group and qualify for the second round, then that would be a major achievement considering the opposition. Failing that, doing well in the matches that determine the 19th to 32nd places will be their target.
There aren't odds on individual matches at present but the one that will be interesting will be the game against Jordan. That's the match which could be won by the Tall Blacks. They will be out for revenge though having lost to them last November. However, they did beat Jordan in their previous two meetings.
