When the Tall Blacks found out their World Cup fate, they knew they’d have to pull off at least one upset to make it out of the group stage.
Now, their final two group matches are must wins. But the do or die attitude has been instilled within the squad since the start of their training camp five weeks ago.
“We are all fired up for this tournament,” Tall Blacks forward Yianni Wetzell told 1News.
“We had a big build up big campaign, a month of travelling for these few games.
"We are coming in with a do or die mentality regardless and now we have to win these next two games to get through - but it’s the Kiwi mantra right we're underdogs always we are going to leave it all out on the floor," Wetzell said.
The Tall Blacks are honing in on Jordan their next opponent, who they played twice last year recording one win and a loss.
In 2023 both sides are vastly different. A boost for the Jordanian team adding former NBA player Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to their roster.
“There’s a lot of guys on the team that didn’t play them last year at the Asia cup, we’re going to have to watch a ton of film," Wetzell said.
The Tall Blacks come off a 99-72 defeat to the USA – while Jordan also suffered defeat at the hands of Greece in their opening match.
All of the Tall Blacks games as well as a number of big match-ups will be free to watch live on TVNZ+ and Duke.
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