FORMER La Salle center Taane Samuel and ex-University of the East guard Richie Rodger were included in the 21-man pool for New Zealand ahead of the February window of the 2023 Fiba Basketall World Cup qualifiers.
Samuel, who played his lone year with the Green Archers in UAAP Season 81, has been a revelation since heading back home as he helped the Wellington Saints capture the 2021 New Zealand National Basketball League crown before signing up with the Brisbane Bullets in the Australia NBL.
Rodger, meanwhile, was supposed to play for the Red Warriors in UAAP Season 82, but was relegated to a reserve spot. He has since played for the Otago Nuggets in the NZ NBL.
Basketball New Zealand has prepared a young and potent pool as it aims to qualify for the global hoops showcase in these Group A games.
Taane Samuel was part of the Wellington Saints' champion squad in 2021.
Leading the squad are last year's MVP Dion Prewster, and Tall Blacks holdovers Ethan Rusbatch, Max Darling, and Rob Loe.
Completing the squad are Quintin Bailey, Jayden Bezzant, Taylor Britt, Joe Cook-Green, Taki Fahrensohn, Benjamin Gold, Hyrum Harris, Jordan Hunt, Brayden Inger, Jonathan Janssen, Michael Karena, Dominique Kelman-Poto, Elijah Puna, Tom Vodanovich, and Tai Wynyard.
Pero Cameron will coach the Tall Blacks as the team will weed this list down to just 14 to travel for the Philippines on Feb. 21.
"We’ve got an experienced Tall Blacks in the squad mixed with some up-and-coming players. I see this as a great chance for some of our younger athletes to gain international experience and to prove themselves on the big stage," said Leonard King, Basketball New Zealand head of high performance.
"Because our first round results carry over into the next round, every game matters – so we’ll be looking to win all our games to help build that momentum leading up to next year’s World Cup."
New Zealand will face India on Feb. 24, Korea on Feb. 25, Gilas Pilipinas on Feb. 27, and India anew on Feb. 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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