The basketball sport was introduced by the YMCA in the country New Zealand.
Mormon missionaries as well as the popular people in the Army who returned from the World War II in the Pacific coast encouraged this game in the country. The very first national championship in New Zealand was held in the year 1938. However these tournaments were substituted in the year 1980s in favor for both of the Men’s and women’s Basketball leagues.
In the international basketball scene, the representative teams of the New Zealand which are called the Tall Fern women and Tall Black men both join the World Championship tournaments as well as the very Famous Olympic Games which is being held every four years.
The New Zealand men’s basketball team was also invited to join the 1986 world Championships which was held in Spain where they have won over the team from Malaysia with the end score of 77-75. They celebrated their victory. On the other hand, their women representatives attended the 1994 tournament which was held in Australia. In the said tournament, the women representative had won over the Representative of Kenya with the end score of 93-76 in the final match.
In the year 2000, the both representatives have attended the Olympics held in Sydney, Australia where each team won one game. The New Zealand Men’s Basketball Team won over Angola with the end score of 70-60 while the New Zealand’s Women Basketball Team won over Senegal with the end score of 72-69.
The Men’s National Basketball Team continued surfacing among other countries by astounding Australian during the 2001 FIBA Oceana Championships. they have garnered their first series of success over the Boomers, which was their qualifying round for the 2002 World Championships held in Indianapolis where they have once again showed what they got in the for they have reached the Semi-Finals.
In the year 2004, the representatives of New Zealand, both Men and women, have once again joined the Olympics held in Athens, Greece. In the said event, the Tall Fern Women managed to bring down the representatives from Korea and China and have furthered to the qualifying events for the quarterfinals. At the same time, the Tall Blacks men players have upset the reigning World Champions from the country Serbia and Montenegro.
Two years soon after, the Tall Blacks came back to join in the World Championship events where they have progressed to the eighth-finals prior to their lost from Argentina which landed as the Olympics gold Medallists.
The progress of the sport basketball in New Zealnd has made a slow but very certain impetus over the years. With the outpouring victory of New Zealand National Basketball teams, they have made an extension of their services to their aspiring fellowmen who wanted to become professional basketball players, as well as coaches, administrators and of course referees.
As their popularity in the Basketball history continues to rise up, many people all over the world will be awed and excited to see what they can prove.
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