The Tall Blacks marked another milestone on the road to Spain and the FIBA Basketball World Cup in late August with the trimming of the roster down to a party of 14 to travel through Asia and Europe on their way to Spain, each player hoping they will then make the final cut of 12 for the World Cup itself.

 Head coach Nenad Vucinic and assistants Paul Henare and Pero Cameron have reduced the squad before heading first to Korea for a further two games against the South Koreans, then to a tournament in China and then on to Europe with games in Lithuania and Serbia before arriving in Spain in late August.

Of the 17 from the Burger King Series, four will not board the plane to Korea in a week’s time, one as a result of injury. Jack Salt, Tohi Smith-Milner and Josh Bloxham received the news no coach likes to deliver, let alone the players want to hear.

“With young guys like Josh, Tohi and Jack they have a great future ahead of them,” said Vucinic. “Josh is not as young as the others but in point guard terms he is young. All three have great futures with the Tall Blacks and their time will come, although it is very difficult for them at this point with this news.”

Vucinic spared a thought as well for Alex Pledger, the Breakers centre will not travel with news that his injured foot may take 4 to 6 weeks to heal.

“The toughest decision is the one that is made for us with Alex and his injury because he was one of the main players we were counting on. We still don’t discount him because we will give him time to recover but it will be a race against time for Alex. We really feel for him, he has worked so hard after surgery on his ankle and now this, it is such an unusual injury too, it really was bad luck the way he came down on someone else’s foot.”

Influenced in part by the injury to Pledger, the Tall Blacks will take both Casey Frank and Nick Horvath on tour, despite knowing that ultimately only one of the naturalized players can make the final 12 in Spain.

“It is a very tough decision, we could not make it yet and decided to take both of them to give us more time and see how the combinations go, all the more so now with Alex not travelling. It is a crucial decision as both of them are also carrying niggling injuries but at this time we have looked at what is best for the team and that means experience, it is not a time for developing players, so for now they will both travel and we will make a decision closer to Spain.”

The 14 include veteran Tall Black players with previous World Cup experience, including Kirk Penney (2002, 06, 10), Mika Vukona (2006, 10), Tom Abercrombie (2010), BJ Anthony (2010), Lindsay Tait (2010) and Casey Frank (2010).

There is a strong showing from the younger brigade as well though, most notably in the large form of 16 year old Tai Wynyard who continues his stellar rise in the sport. The Breakers Academy player was named MVP at the recent Nike All Asia Camp and has shown few nerves in becoming the youngest ever Tall Black in the just completed Burger King Series.

Captain Mika Vukona is excited about the team’s prospects for Spain and beyond.

“I am excited, really excited. I have said it before but it is worth repeating that the quality of the young players coming through is fantastic and paints a bright future for the Tall Blacks. But this is no accident, Nenad and the coaching staff of the Tall Blacks have been working with a number of these players for the past four or five years, bringing them into camps and monitoring their progress and many of them have been working on their games at the Breakers Academy so we know how good they are. The key now is to find that chemistry in the group.”

Vucinic stressed that none of the players left out at this point should consider themselves right out of the frame.

“Until we name our 12 for Spain in late August, everyone has to consider themselves a chance and we have asked them to maintain their fitness and their focus should they be called upon. As we have already seen in this past week, injuries can occur at any time.”

Rob Loe will join the team in New Zealand just prior to departing for Korea while Jarrod Kenny is named despite currently carrying a foot injury. The Hawkes Bay point guard is expected to recover in time to play a part in the Asian leg of the tour.

14 player squad to travel to Korea, China, Lithuania and Serbia en-route to Spain.

First Name	Family Name	Age	Current Team	Position	Height
Thomas	Abercrombie	26	SKYCITY Breakers	Forward	198cm
Benny	Anthony	25	Wellington Saints	Forward	198cm
Everard	Bartlett	28	Hawkes Bay Hawks	Guard	191cm
Isaac	Fotu	20	University of Hawaii	Forward	203cm
Casey	Frank	36	Waikato Pistons	Forward	203cm
Nick	Horvath	33	Manawatu Jets	Centre	208cm
Jarrod	Kenny	28	Hawkes Bay Hawks	Guard	186cm
Robert	Loe	22	University of St Louis (USA)	Forward/Centre	201cm
Kirk	Penney	33	Trabzonspor (Turkey)	Shooting guard	196cm
Lindsay	Tait	32	Wellington Saints	Point guard	190cm
Mika	Vukona	32	Nelson Giants/Breakers	Forward	198cm
Corey	Webster	25	Wellington Saints/Breakers	Guard	185cm
Tai	Webster	19	University of Nebraska (USA)	Guard	193cm
Tai	Wynyard	16	Super City Rangers	Forward	201cm