30 Jun 2012

Tall Blacks lose to Nigeria

7:11 am on 30 June 2012

The prospect of the New Zealand men's basketball team qualifying for the London Olympics appears all but non-existent after suffering their third straight loss in Brazil.

The Tall Blacks, ranked 18th in the world, were beaten 74-66 by 21st-ranked Nigeria in their third and final warm match, ahead of next week's last chance Olympic qualifying tournament in Venezuela.

The Tall Blacks have been beaten by Brazil, Greece and Nigeria over the past week and must finish in the top three in Venezuela to qualify for London.

Their first game in Venezuela is against Macedonia on Wednesday.