The Tall Blacks have been dealt a huge blow ahead of the FIBA World Cup in China with longtime captain Mika Vukona ruled out of the tournament with injury.
Vukona suffered a left knee injury whilst playing for the Nelson Giants in the NZ NBL, and was given every chance to prove his fitness, but failed to do so.
Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare was devastated with the news and knows Vukona will be a huge loss for the tournament which starts next month.
"We have known for a couple of weeks that Mika was unlikely to get clearance to play, but we all know Mika and wanted to give him as much time as we could to understand the full implications of the injury," he explained.
"Even knowing we were essentially left with no choice, it was one of the hardest calls I have had to make in my time coaching this team. Few if any others give what Mika has given to this national team over so many years, he is the heartbeat of our group and a leader on and off the court."
The Tall Blacks squad will meet up in Auckland later this week, and Henare hopes Vukona can have an off-court role to help the team prepare for the tournament.
"Mika's role extends to beyond his influence on court, he can and will still play a vital role in the build-up, in working with the playing group, in particular, the younger guys on the team.
We will bring him into the Auckland camp and currently we are exploring options on when and where he can join us during the build-up, without compromising his rehab ahead of the NBL season with the Bullets."
The Tall Blacks have been drawn in group F for the World Cup alongside, Greece, Brazil and Montenegro.
The extended squad will be cut to 14 for a pre-World Cup tour and then 12 for the tournament itself.
Updated extended Tall Blacks squad: Guards: Shea Ili (Wellington Saints/NZ Breakers), Tai Webster (Galatasaray), Jarrod Kenny (Bay Hawks/Cairns Taipans), Corey Webster (NZ Breakers), Ethan Rusbatch (Bay Hawks), Taylor Britt (Canterbury Rams), Kruz Perrott-Hunt (Nelson Giants), Taine Murray (Rosmini College)
Small forwards: Tom Abercrombie (Wellington Saints/NZ Breakers), Jordan Ngatai (Wellington Saints/NZ Breakers), Reuben Te Rangi (Wellington Saints/Brisbane Bullets), Dan Fotu (St Mary's College of California)
Power forwards: Finn Delany (FMP Belgrade/NZ Breakers), Isaac Fotu (Ratiopharm Ulm), Max Darling (Vrijednosnice Osijek), Tom Vodanovich (Southland Sharks), Yanni Wetzell (Vanderbilt University), Tohi Smith-Milner (Melbourne United)
Centres: Rob Loe (Wellington Saints/NZ Breakers), Alex Pledger (Southland Sharks/Melbourne United), Tyrell Harrison (Nelson Giants/Brisbane Bullets), Yuat Alok (University of Central Florida), Sam Timmins (University of Washington).
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