D'arcy And Goran

The Tall Blacks have been handed a swift wake-up call in their first of two friendlies against Canada, being handed a 34-point loss in Sydney last night.Being without all but one of their NBA stars didn't hurt the Canadian side, which cruised for the most part on their way to a 122-88 win.For the most part, the Tall Blacks never looked in the contest. After leading 12-10 early, the Canadian side went on with the job to jump out to a 20-point lead before long.Ahead 35-16 after the first quarter, Canada pushed on for the second blowout win of their tour of Australia – after beating the Boomers by 20 points in Perth – converting on 55 per cent of their shot attempts.With Orlando Magic center Khem Birch the only NBA player available to them for the match, Canada got a massive lift from their bench who accounted for 76 of the team's 122 points.The Tall Blacks, who were without regular rotation players Shea Ili (minor groin strain) and Alex Pledger (illness) for the match, picked up their game after what was a timi