The Tall Blacks are finally coming home.
Basketball New Zealand and world governing body Fiba yesterday announced the Tall Blacks would play a game in Auckland in July.
They will play the Philippines on July 3 as part of the third window of the Basketball World Cup qualifying series.
It will be the first time the Tall Blacks have played on home court since beating Syria 97-74 in Wellington in December 2018.
BBNZ head of high performance Leonard King is rapt they can play in front of a home crowd again after four long years.
"This is great news for our team, as home-court advantage is huge in basketball and we always play our best basketball in front of a home crowd," King said.
"And it’s great for the fans to be able to watch their men’s national team in person once again, as Kiwis have been starved of Tall Blacks games in their backyard for four years.
‘‘It’s very exciting."
The game is a rematch of the recent qualifier in Manila — the Tall Blacks won 88-63 — and will follow a game in Auckland between the Philippines and India on July 1.
King, the Otago Nuggets great, said the games would be played in a bubble due to the current Covid climate, though the public would be able to attend.
"Playing these games in a bubble ensures the health and safety of all participants.
‘‘We know it worked well for us in Manila so we’re very comfortable with Fiba’s decision on this."
New Zealand is one of 16 nations vying for the seven Asia-Oceania spots in the 2023 World Cup.
The 16 teams play qualifiers during six windows across the first and second rounds.
After progressing through the second window with a perfect 3-0 record, the Tall Blacks will hope to keep their run going in the third window.
At the end of the first round, the top three teams from each group will advance to the second round of the qualifiers with all teams carrying over their first-round results.
