The outline of the New Zealand men’s 3×3 national team, Korea’s ‘largest opponent’, has been revealed.
On the 16th (Korean time), the list of the New Zealand men’s 3×3 national team was released through the FIBA official website. New Zealand’s Dominique Kelman-Poto (200cm), Richard Thomas Roger (189cm) and Ty Winyard (209cm) will compete in this 3×3 Asia Cup. The other one is expected to be announced at a later date.
The New Zealand men’s 3×3 national team announced this time will face off against Korea at 2:05 pm (Korean time) on the 30th at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2023, which opens on the 29th.
Although the roster has not been completed yet, through the list announced today, it is possible to roughly estimate how strong New Zealand is. Among the three players on the roster, the two-meter duo Kelman-Poto and Winyard should pay attention.
Both players are ‘career players’ who have played more than 150 games in 3×3 official matches recognized by FIBA. In particular, Kelman Port is 200cm tall and Winyard is 209cm tall, giving the opponent a sense of intimidation.
Kelman Potho, 200 cm tall, is the self-proclaimed ace of the New Zealand national team. Kelman Porto, who rose to No. 1 in the FIBA 3×3 New Zealand rankings last year, is a big man who combines both inside and outside attacks with powerful play based on his massive physique. He is not fast, but he is a player who scores a lot of goals with movement under the goal and graceful steps. In addition, he also has the ability to shoot from the outside, up to the occasional two-point shot. Kelman Potho, who has a knack for scoring, scored a total of 26 points in 4 games at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2022, ranking 7th in the tournament’s scoring rankings.
However, the player Korea should be most wary of is center Winyard. At the age of 25, Wynyard, the youngest player on the team, is a player who will target Korea under the goal with his height of 209cm. Although he is the youngest, he has the richest 3×3 career in the team with 188 games played in 3×3 official games.
Wynyard played in 5 games at the FIBA World Cup 2022, averaging 6.0 points and 1.5 blocked shots. He is 209 cm tall and has a long wingspan, so he is good at rebounding and blocking shots.
Moreover, Kelman Moto and Winyard also have a high understanding of high-low play, so it is difficult for Korea to deal with them. Kelman Foto and Wynyard, who worked together in the 3×3 World Cup last year, showed off their compatibility by frequently playing the high-low game. Therefore, Korea needs to prepare for the high-low game leading to Kelman Port and Winyard.
Roger, who is 189cm tall, doesn’t have much experience as a 3×3 player compared to Kelman Porto and Wynyard, who were introduced earlier. He appeared mainly in 3×3 competitions held in his country, and only played 71 matches before the official FIBA 3×3. This is the first time he has participated in a so-called major tournament. 안전놀이터
As above, New Zealand has confirmed three players first, and the other one is expected to fill the guard position.
If 190cm tall guard Jayden Bezant or Nikau McKlaus joins, the number of people on alert will increase in Korea. Among them, McClaus is the scorer who ranked 5th in the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 with a total score of 29 points. If McClaus joins the team, Korea needs to check his game coordination and scoring ability.
New Zealand, which we have to face, is a strong team that finished runner-up in the 2017 and 2022 3×3 Asian Cups. As Turkmenistan and Tonga are objectively inferior teams in terms of power, Korea must catch New Zealand to look forward to advancing to the main draw.
The Korean men’s 3×3 national team, consisting of Sangmu players such as Heo Hoon, Song Gyo-chang, Kim Nak-hyeon, and Park Jeong-hyeon, entered the Jincheon National Training Center on the 10th and is in the midst of preparing for the Asian Cup. From the 15th, additional players from Sangmu have joined and are fulfilling their role as training partners.
With the outline of the New Zealand national team, which had been hidden in a veil, revealed, attention is focused on what solution Kang Yang-hyun’s men’s 3×3 national team and team will find during the training period of about 10 days.