FORMER La Salle forward Taane Samuel and two more Wellington Saints have made it to New Zealand's 14-man roster for the February window of the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Basketball New Zealand announced its final pool on Thursday ahead of the Tall Blacks trip to Manila on Monday as it cut its final list from its initial 21.
Dion Prewster, the 2021 New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) Season MVP, and new signee Tom Vodanovich are the other Saints to make it to the lineup.
Former University of the East guard Richie Rodger, now playing for the Otago Nuggets, also earned his place in the Tall Blacks roster.
Completing the roster are Jayden Bezzant, Taylor Britt, Joe Cook-Green, Taki Fahrensohn, Benjamin Gold, Hyrum Harris, Brayden Inger, Robert Loe, Ethan Rusbatch, and Tai Wynyard.
Tall Blacks see action in PH
"It’s a good squad and I’m excited by it, we’ve got a solid mix of vets with good leadership and they’re get an opportunity to go out there and get some minutes, and we’ve got some great young guys too who I’m looking forward to see play. We’ll have several debutants who will wear the back singlet for the first time, so obviously they’ll be looking forward to that experience," said coach Pero Cameron.
"We’re got a couple of younger athletes who got identified early and then maybe fell of the radar for one reason or another, so this is a fresh chance for them; some went off to college, some have had professional experiences in different parts of the world and have come back on our radar because others weren’t available – but also because they’re part of our depth charts and are players we identified as athletes with huge potential for the Tall Blacks."
New Zealand will be facing India on Feb. 24, Korea on Feb. 25, Gilas Pilipinas on Feb. 27, and India again on Feb. 28 at Smart Araneta Coliseum as it plays its first set of Group A games in the first round of the qualifiers.
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