Manila added to Saints’ schedule
THE Wellington Saints will come up against former Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin during a confirmed second tournament of their Asian tour.
After already accepting an invitation to the William Jones Cup in Taiwan at the end of August, the Saints have agreed to play in the MVP Cup in the Philippines from September 11-13.
The William Jones Cup offer came about through an agreement between Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) and the organiser to send the winner of the National Basketball League winners of the previous year to the tournament – the Saints were the 2014 NBL champions.
The MVP Cup is being run as a leadup for the Philippines national team before they play at the Asian Championships and will also feature the Lebanese and Chinese Taipei national teams.
Saints owner Nick Mills said the second invite also had some influence from BBNZ.
‘‘They invited us and Basketball New Zealand put a bit of pressure on us to compete to give a New Zealand flavour over there and fly the flag.
‘‘But it will be great for us to get a bit of extra exposure in the Asian market.’’
The MVP Cup will be played at the 16,500-seat Smart Araneta Coliseum on the outskirts of Manila, which is expected to be sold out in a country where basketball is the most popular sport.
The Saints will meet a familiar face from back home, with Baldwin now head coach of the Philippines.
Most of the team’s 2015 homegrown roster will travel to Asia, though their Tall Blacks trio of Leon Henry, Dion Prewster and Lindsay Tait are doubtful, while imports Torrey Craig and Daniel Johnson will be returning to the United States and Australia respectively.
Henry will be with Australian NBL side the Townsville Crocodiles after the Oceania series against Australia, while Prewster is close to signing for an ANBL team which would also rule him out.
Tait will be available but whether he wants to go after a long NBL and Tall Blacks campaign is another matter.
Mills said the roster would be finalised next week and the tour would be a good opportunity to look at imports for next year’s NBL.
‘‘We’re looking at a few people who we can take with us, basically as a trial for 2016, but the core of the team will be made up of the guys who helped us get there.’’
That statement indicated Mills may continue with the team next year after earlier hinting he may sell the franchise.
One person who won’t be there next year is coach Pero Cameron. With his Saints contract expired, the team is looking for other coaches to lead the side during their Asian tour.
They are also looking for a shirt sponsor to help foot the bill, with Mills saying the tour would offer companies prime exposure in the Asian market.