All the Better for Pero

First the Tall Blacks beat Canada 71-61 at Halkapinar Arena in Izmir, Turkey, and then France 82-7 in the knockout round of the FIBA World Championship. The team now faces Russia (the TBs went down). Head coach Nenad Vucinic believes the Tall Blacks should be viewed as one of New Zealand’s most successful and most respected sports teams after qualifying past the group stage at a third straight Championship. “The Tall Blacks are a team that’s a legend of New Zealand sport because of how much they punch above their weight,” Vucinic said. The Toronto Suns’ Mike Ganter wrote that though captain Pero Cameron, 36, is “round in the middle, big in the hips and just as likely to crack you in the head as he is knock down a three over an unsuspecting opponent … New Zealand was a better team because of [him].”