Do or die for Tall Blacks
by Niko Kloeten 
For many of the Tall Blacks, this week’s 3-match Oceania Olympic qualifying series against the Australian Boomers in Australia is the last chance saloon.
For the majority of the veteran squad, next year in Beijing will be their Olympic swansong.
By the time the London Olympics roll around in 2012, master thief Dillon Boucher and seven-footer Tony Rampton will both be 36 years old, Point guard Mark “Sparky” Dickel won’t be so electrifying at 35, while stalwarts Phill Jones and Pero Cameron will be 38 and closer to coaching the team than playing.
But if they want to even make it to Beijing, they have to beat the Boomers this week.
If not, the Tall Blacks will be forced to compete in a repechage tournament featuring top teams from Europe and the Americas that weren’t able to qualify in their respective zones.
These teams will be mostly stacked with NBA players and several of the countries will be even higher ranked than Australia.
This means both teams will be desperate, giving the always-intense trans-Tasman rivalry extra spice.
And there may never be a better opportunity to beat the Boomers.
The Australians will be without several key players, most notably center Andrew Bogut, who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA.
Also missing will be point guard CJ Bruton, forward Matt Nielsen and center Chris Anstey.
The Tall Blacks, by contrast, will have a full-strength team.
Despite this, beating the Aussies at home will be huge challenge, as always.