Delany withdraws from Tall Blacks

In-form Breakers forward Finn Delany is the latest defection from the Tall Blacks squad to take on a severely depleted Australian Boomers and Guam in Fiba Asia Cup qualifying play this week.

New Tall Blacks head coach Pero Cameron assembled his squad of 12 in Brisbane to prepare for tomorrow’s first game against the Australians at Nissan Arena (9.40pm tip, NZT), with Delany and Auckland schoolboy Taine Murray the defections from his initial squad of 14.

Delany will sit out the two-game international window at the end of his standout NBL season with the Breakers which finished at the weekend when the club missed out on a playoff spot on countback, after finishing 15-13 and winning 11 of their last 14 games.

The Nelson forward recently signed a two-year contract extension with the Breakers and has shifted to the Saints for the New Zealand NBL in 2020.

Both New Zealand and Australia will be well below anything resembling full strength for tomorrow night’s matchup, with neither side including any of its NBA or Europebased players.