Basketball NZ CEO Iain Potter wants changes to FIBA international window

Basketball New Zealand will lobby the world body over the travel stress placed on the Tall Blacks over the last four days.

The New Zealand side, in the middle of a World Cup qualifying campaign, beat Syria in Beirut on Friday, before heading home to play Lebanon on Monday night.

Afterwards, both Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare and his Lebanese counterpart spoke out against their respective travel schedules over the proceeding four days.

New Zealand found themselves in quite the bind, overcoming 40 hours of travel to and from Beirut in their preparation for the matches.

The Kiwis arrived back from Lebanon less than 24 hours before the Monday night tip-off in Rotorua, where they were lucky to escape with the win.

The Tall Blacks shot a measly 28 percent from the field, representing one of the worst offensive performances in international history.

CEO Iain Potter said he would travel to Switzerland to discuss the issue of player welfare with FIBA officials.

Iain Potter
Basketbal NZ chief executive Iain Potter. Photo credit: Photosport.

"We will make representation," Potter told Newshub. "We will suggest that the push the window out by another 24 hours, as that would give the players an opportunity to recover better.

"I think the performance, with a high percentage of missed shots, that's an indication of player fatigue from both sides."

A satisfactory solution may be hard to come by, given the demands of international clubs where the players earn a living.

Potter said FIBA must keep that in mind when planning for the future international windows, but it must find a better way to look after the players.

"We have to be careful with the windows, because we are often taking players out of their paying clubs," he said.

"There is a real sense of negotiations between nations and clubs, and it's hard to push it out beyond another 48 hours.

"An extra 24 would be acceptable, certainly 72 wouldn't, so somewhere in between those numbers.

"We need to find the place that represents the best for player welfare and the realities of who pays their wages, which is the clubs."

Newshub.