Tab faces protégé Henare

MANILA, Philippines – New Zealand head coach Paul Henare is up against the man who taught him nearly everything about basketball when the Kiwis battle the Philippines in Group B of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the MOA Arena tonight.

Henare, 37, played for Tab Baldwin when the Gilas head coach called the shots for the Tall Blacks at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2002 and 2006 FIBA World Cups. Additionally, Baldwin was Henare’s coach with the Auckland Stars in the New Zealand league.

Baldwin said he’s often in touch with Henare and they’re close friends. But affinity won’t be in the equation when Baldwin and Henare match wits in tonight’s crucial contest, the winner of which will likely enter the semifinals on Saturday. Both are out to win at the other’s expense. Nothing personal, it’s just a job that has to be done.

The Philippines has never played New Zealand in seven Olympic and five World Cup appearances. They’ve clashed in the Jones Cup occasionally and last year, Gilas beat the Kiwis, 92-88, in overtime but New Zealand was represented by the club Wellington Saints. In 2000, New Zealand won its only Jones Cup title and one of its victims was the MBA team Laguna Lakers. Gilas also played New Zealand, once more represented by the Saints, at the MVP Cup last year and won, 84-81.

New Zealand’s brightest moment in basketball came when Baldwin took the Kiwis to the semifinals of the 2002 FIBA World Cup in Indianapolis. New Zealand upset Russia, 90-81, and brought down Venezuela, 98-85 and China, 94-88, before beating Puerto Rico, 65-63 in the knockout quarterfinals. The Kiwis finished fourth in the tournament, their highest placing ever in the World Cup. The feat rewarded Baldwin with recognition as an honorary officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Baldwin is a dual American and New Zealand citizen.

For his part, Henare piloted New Zealand to the Stankovic Cup crown in China last year, defeating Mexico, 70-66, in the final with 6-2 Corey Webster hitting 30 points and 6-8 Ike Fotu compiling 16 points and 18 rebounds. The Kiwis were unbeaten in the competition, beating China and Mexico twice and Venezuela once. Fotu erupted for 34 points in the semifinal win over China.

At the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, New Zealand downed Ukraine, 73-61 and Finland, 67-65 then lost to Lithuania, 76-71, in the knockout round-of-16. Eight players from that team were held over for this week’s Olympic qualifier – Webster, Fotu, 6-6 B. J. Anthony, 6-6 Tom Abercrombie, 6-4 Everard Bartlett, 6-6 Mika Vukona, 6-4 Tai Webster and 6-11 Rob Loe. Also in the squad are 6-0 Shea Ili, 6-5 Jordan Ngatai, 6-10 Michael Karena and 5-11 Derone Raukawa.

The Kiwis are encouraged by their showing against France and Canada at the 2010 FIBA World Cup in Turkey. New Zealand beat Les Bleus, 82-70 and Canada, 71-61. France and Canada are also contenders in the Manila Olympic qualifier.

In a recent pocket tournament to prepare for Manila, New Zealand finished third at the Atlas Challenge in China, trouncing Belarus, Japan and China B before losing to Lithuania in the semifinals and repeating over China B in the playoff for third. The Kiwis are clearly prepared to battle for the lone ticket to Rio.

The Webster brothers Corey, 27, and Tai, 21, Fotu, Abercrombie and Vukana are expected to lead the charge against Gilas tonight. The Websters’ father Tony is an American from Rochester, New York, who played with the University of Hawaii varsity and went on to enjoy a celebrated basketball career in New Zealand as a player and coach.  Corey, who was suspended in the 2011-12 New Zealand season for testing positive for cannabis twice, played at Lambuth University in Tennessee while his brother Tai is with the Nebraska varsity. Fotu saw action for the University of Hawaii and now plays as an import in Spain. Other Kiwis with US college credentials are Abercrombie at Washington State, Karena at Wright State and Ngatai at Brigham Young University-Hawaii.

“Our No. 1 goal is to qualify for the Olympics,” said Henare. “I have every belief that we can overcome the odds and achieve that goal. And yes, we will be the underdogs but how many times are we ever the favorites going into a big contest? The Tall Blacks have shown through the years that we don’t mind playing the part of David. Often in the past, we’ve thrived on it and we aim to bring down a Goliath or two.”

Henare said the team is fuelled by what he called “mana,” Austronesian for supernatural power and before every game, the Kiwis perform the “haka,” the Maori war challenge, on the court.

New Zealand’s average height is 6-5 like the Philippines with 6-11 Loe and 6-10 Karena the tallest. Fotu is the team’s top rebounder. He’s ferocious under both boards with the ability to match the strength of any big in the tournament. Vukona is the team’s senior statesman as the veteran of three World Cups.

Missing from the New Zealand lineup are Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams, point guard Jarrod Kenny and veteran sharpshooter Kirk Penney. But even without the three stars, the Kiwis are confident of a breakthrough. New Zealand has played basketball in only two Olympics in 2000 and 2004 and Henare hopes to bring the Kiwis back for a third appearance.