The  Championship website, has all the latest information and attachments.  The competition rules can be found on this website

For more information about the 3x3 website, click here to go to the 3x3 Youth Championships website.

After one of the greatest series of all time, the result came down to a desperate final quarter in which American Gary Wilkinson willed his New Zealand side ahead with a string of clutch plays. The Breaker's CJ Bruton, who captured his fifth championship ring and earned Finals MVP honours, nailed a pair of three-pointers in the dying moments that finally snapped Perth’s spirit.

Breaker's Wilkinson led all scorers with 23 points, Bruton had 16 (four triples) and American import Cedric Jackson dished 12 assists.

Forward Shawn R edhage had 18 for the Wildcats while Matt Knight was dominant inside with 17. 

New Zealand Breakers 79 (Wilkinson 23, Bruton 16, Pledger 13, Abercrombie 12)
Perth Wildcats 73 (Redhage 18, Knight 17, Lisch 15)

Crowd: 9258 at Vector Arena, Auckland

FIBA convenes its first Central Board of 2012 this weekend and the meeting will culminate with the draw for the Olympic Basketball Tournaments.

The attention will be on the 2012 London Games when the draw for the Olympic Basketball Tournaments for Men and Women takes place at 11:00 local time (16:00 CET) on Monday at the Auditorium of the Brazilian Olympic Committee.  You can watch it live on FIBATV>

So far nine men’s national teams (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Great Britain, Spain, Tunisia and USA) and seven women’s national teams (Angola, Australia, Brazil, China, Great Britain, Russia and USA) have already qualified. The remaining eight places – three men’s and five women’s – will be determined through the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments taking place in Caracas, Venezuela and Ankara, Turkey in late June-early July.

The agenda of the Central Board will call for decisions on who will host the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championships. Additionally, updates will be given about the on-going preparations for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain and the FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey.

The Board will also be fully informed of FIBA’s 3x3 activities. The inaugural season of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour is only months away and the summer will also see the first-ever FIBA 3x3 World Cup (for Men and Women) in Athens, Greece and 3x3 U18 World Cup (for Boys and Girls) in Seville, Spain.

The system of competition for the period 2017-2030 will be another important topic. At its last meeting in December 2011, the Central Board gave the green light to look into ways to improve the system of competition. Since then, talks have taken place between FIBA and its stakeholders and the current state of affairs on the issue will be addressed in Rio. A decision is expected towards the end of the year.

From the FIBA Oceania family, we extend our congratulations, and we thank you for your enthusiasm in sharing your knowledge with the smaller island Federations of the Oceania zone.

Hunt becomes the first Australian and Oceania coach to be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award given annually to a person who has committed their life to being a guardian of the game, the advancement of proper coaching education, and development of basketball across international borders contributing to growth of the game.

Patrick was invited to attend the NCAA Final Four tournament in New Orleans recently, and during that tournament he was presented with the very prestigious International Lifetime Achievement Award by the USA National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Hunt is currently employed as the Australian Institute of Sport's Applied Technical Advancement Coach and many players and coaches in the Oceania region will be delighted to join FIBA Oceania in congratulating Patrick on this award.

Patrick was also an invited guest speaker at the 2012 Coaches Convention, as part of the NABC's Personal Development Series Clinics, presenting "Offensive Trends in International Basketball- An Australian Perspective". The clinic was attended by over 250 NCAA Div. I, II and III and International Coaches.

Also during the Finals Series Hunt was a featured speaker and participant in the 2012 International Coaches Forum addressing issues such as Amateur-Professionalism guidelines for young players and parents, coaching development, player skill development and current issues facing basketball federations. His participation was extremely well received by the coaches in attendance at this years' Annual NABC Convention.

Thursday, April 12, 7.30pm (local); Vector Arena, Auckland

TV: SKY Sports, 7.30pm (New Zealand) / ONE, 10pm (Australia)

Radio: Radio Sport (New Zealand) / ABC Grandstand (Australia)

Last time they met: New Zealand 101 (Jackson 23, Wilkinson 18, Corletto 12, Pledger 12, Vukona 12) d Perth 99 (Lisch 27, Redhage 16, Knight 15) OT, Round 18, 2011/12, Challenge Stadium, Perth

A look at the NBL team stats sheet tells the story of why Perth and New Zealand are in the Grand Final.

They are the top two in scoring, steals, assists and turnovers forced, and rank in the top three in rebounds, field-goal percentage and three-point shooting.

The Breakers won the season series 2-1, just as they did last year thanks to their ability to win the close contests.

Both teams play a comparable style and a similar make-up of their roster, resulting in several classic individual match-ups.

Facing off
Cedric Jackson (NZ) v Damian Martin (Perth):
Few point guards get the better of Martin, but Jackson has averaged 17.7 points at 45 per cent, 6.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals in three games against the Wildcats. Martin has performed strongly too, averaging 8.3 points at 46 per cent, 6.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists, and helped force Jackson into four turnovers a game.

CJ Bruton (NZ) v Kevin Lisch (Perth):
This is the match-up of money shooters, whether they guard each other or not. In his 11 playoff games for the Breakers, Bruton has averaged three triples at 38 per cent. Lisch’s career average is 14.2 points at 42 per cent from the field, but in playoffs that increases to 16.5 points at 49 per cent.

Tom Abercrombie (NZ) v Cam Tovey (Perth):
If he plays, Abercrombie may be rendered a jump-shooter in Game 1. In last season’s playoffs he hit 4-of-17 from long range, but against Townsville this year he nailed 7-of-14. Tovey has made only 5-of-26 three-point shots since the end of November and just four of his past 17 two-point attempts. He must look to exploit Abercrombie in transition.

Mika Vukona (NZ) v Shawn Redhage (Perth):
Redhage is an offensive genius who has found form with 14.7 points at 53 per cent in his past nine games. Vukona’s defence has as big an influence on a game as most scorers, while his 12 points, eight rebounds, four steals, two assists, five drawn fouls and countless tips on the offensive boards were crucial in New Zealand’s victory in Perth in Round 18.

Alex Pledger (NZ) v Luke Nevill (Perth):
In the past two games against Perth, Pledger has averaged 10 points at 70 per cent and four rebounds in 16.5 minutes, and he created a defensive wall the Crocs could not get past in the semi-finals. Nevill blocks just 0.4 shots a game in losses, but that rises to 1.6 in wins, giving protection to the Wildcats' guards to relentlessly apply pressure on the perimeter.

Gary Wilkinson (NZ) v Matt Knight (Perth):
Knight averaged 2.7 offensive rebounds in his first 14 games, but has collected just 1.8 a game since returning from injury. Perth desperately need him to exploit Wilkinson and Pledger for hustle in this area. Wilkinson has shot at 52 per cent in nine games against the Wildcats, but just 30 per cent from long range.

The wrap
When Perth blew New Zealand away in Round 12 they made 41 per cent from long range and grabbed 79 per cent of the rebounds at their defensive end. The Breakers’ corresponding numbers were 14 and 70.

Whether Abercrombie is fit to play is an enormous factor in these areas. He is their leading three-point shooter, at 43 per cent, and averages 4.7 rebounds a game.

Regardless, both teams have shown they can win with key players out injured or having sub-par games, so effort on the offensive glass, ball protection and dropping open shots will likely be the determining factors.

Prediction: Breakers by 2

The grant is funded by the NSW Government's International Sporting Events Program, which assists organisations to host international events in NSW.

FIBA Oceania's application for funding was supported by Coffs Harbour's State Parliamentary Member, Andrew Fraser MP. 

Secretary General Steve Smith said "We are most appreciative of this financial assistance which will enable us to present our inaugural Championships in a most professional manner.  With 20 National teams already confirmed for the event, and a lot of interest from Australian clubs, we anticipate reaching our goal of 72 participating teams". 

The National teams to confirm their participation are Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Cook Islands and Tonga. Vanuatu and PNG are expected to join that list soon.

Nominations from Australian club and association teams will close on 7th May.

BVC also works with and develops athletes/coaches in the high performance area and currently has a vacancy for a High Performance Coordinator.
The position is backed by a Strategic Plan and an organisation with clear policies and procedures.

BVC High Performance Coordinator (HPC)
The fundamental responsibilities of this exciting role are to:
Coordinate and deliver all facets of the BVC High Performance program
Coordinate and deliver all facets of the NITP in regional Victoria.

To be successful you will ideally have the following skills and abilities:

Have a high level basketball specific technical knowledge and an ability to understand international trends.
Be the holder or have the ability to obtain a Level 2 NCAS Coaches accreditation or equivalent
Have an understanding of basic financial planning and budgets.
Have an understanding and knowledge of the Basketball Australia High
Performance and National Intensive Training Programs and the Basketball
Victoria Country duties, requirements and initiatives in those areas.

The position is full time and whilst there is extensive travel throughout Regional Victoria, it is based at the BVC’s Bendigo Office and will attract a salary package that is commensurate to your skills and abilities.

Please click here to download the Position Description

For more information, please contact BVC Manager, David Huxtable on +61 35440 6305 or 0408 339 269

Applications addressing the skills and abilities listed should be addressed to:
Basketball Victoria Country
Position vacant - HPC
P.O. Box 463
Bendigo Vic 3552
Australia

OR via e-mail; david.huxtable@bvcc.net.au

Closing date for applications is 5pm, Friday 20 April 2012

An application for the test can be obtained by e-mailing Francine Vollenweider at FIBA in Geneva at the following address:  vollenweider@fiba.com 

You should mention specifically that you want to sit for the test in Oceania/Australia.

The material to be studied for the test can be obtained by going to the FIBA website www.fiba.com  ,  then scroll down to Direct Access in mid-screen►select►player agents.

If you have any queries, please direct these to Francine Vollenweider at FIBA in the first instance.