HIROSHIMA, Japan -- New Zealand point guard Mark Dickel will miss the first three games of the world championships as part of a 10-day suspension from FIBA for failing a drug test last month.
Dickel was suspended by his national federation for two games after failing a drug test taken in July, and was included on the team's roster for the world championships on Saturday. But FIBA met Friday night and determined New Zealand's punishment wasn't enough and imposed a 10-day suspension that means he will miss New Zealand's first three games, starting with Saturday night's meeting with Spain.
The 6-foot-2 Dickel, a member of the national team since the 2000 Olympics, was suspended by Basketball New Zealand last week after testing positive for cannabis in results returned Aug. 11. Dickel, who played at UNLV from 1996-2000, missed two exhibition games against Qatar.
FIBA's drug regulations, which follow the WADA code, call for a two-year suspension for a first violation. However, in a case of "specified substances," such as cannabis, when the player can prove he did not intend to enhance his performance by using the substance, the range of sanctions is from a warning up to one year of ineligibility.
Basketball New Zealand acting chief executive Barry Wilson said he was disappointed with the sanction.
"It must bring into question the status and validity of the New Zealand anti-doping process and the need for another hearing process here," Wilson said in a statement.
New Zealand finished fourth in the 2002 world championships with Dickel averaging 6.7 points and 4.6 assists.
Dickel, who played last season for Lokomotiv Rostov in Russia, will also miss games against Germany and Angola. He will be eligible for the last two games of the first round against Japan and Panama. The top four teams in each of the six-team groups advance to the single-elimination round of 16.