Twenty-two Tall Blacks are in day two of a four-day camp, hoping to make the final squad for September's Basketball World Cup in China.
Among those hoping to get their passport stamped is Ethan Rusbatch, who's coming off an award-winning local NBL season.
Rusbatch has regularly been on the cusp of Paul Henare's Tall Blacks squads and after a breakout season with the Hawkes Bay Hawks, he believes he's done enough to don the black singlet in a larger capacity.
"I work no matter what, no matter how hard it is or how good or bad I play I put in the same amount of work," Rusbatch said.
It's that tenacity that saw the three-point specialist average nearly 19 points a game this season.
But it's not just his offensive flair that he thinks will boost his case for a spot Henare's final squad.
"I like to think I'm a natural leader.
"It's not gonna be something I put on to just try and pretend. I'm just gonna be who I normally am and I think that's gonna be a positive thing for the team," Rusbatch said.
The Tall Blacks need the positivity after losing key players Mika Vukona and Ruben Te Rangi to injuries in the space of one week.
It's a big loss, collectively, we're gonna have to try to fill that up," Tall Blacks assistant coach Ross McMains said.
"It's been awesome watching Ethan play and see his growth.
"So we're excited to see him in camp and seeing him in top form is great for us."
Playing against the world's best certainly sounds good to the 27-year-old.
The stars may finally be aligning for Ethan Rusbatch who is eyeing his chance on the sports biggest international stage.
Newshub.
