Titans Make It Seven
Tagged in: CBL, Competitions
After a slow start, the defending Conference Basketball League (CBL) champion Waikato Titans have started to make their push.
Since ending round seven mid-table at 5-4 following a loss to the then-undefeated Harbour Heat Reserves, the Titans have simply been the hottest team in the Northern Conference, reeling off seven straight wins.
With a 3-0 record in round 11 – including wins over Waikato Pistons Development 132-82, AUT University 106-98 and Heat Reserves 79-69 – the Titans improved to 12-4, sitting fifth and within reach of the top-three.
The addition of NBL Championship-winning Waikato Pistons pair Puke Lenden and Ray Cameron has been a catalyst for the win streak for the Jeff Green-coached Titans - going for an unprecedented fourth straight CBL crown in 2008.
Lenden, the 2008 NBL Finals MVP, averaged 25.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists last week, producing a season-high 31 points and 16 rebounds in the win over AUT and 25 points, 15 rebounds and six steals in handing the Heat Reserves just their second loss of the season.
Cameron averaged 17.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists in round 11, producing a rare triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the one-sided Battle of Hamilton against Pistons Development last Wednesday.
With five rounds remaining in the regular season, the top-five – and CBL Nationals entry - in the Northern Conference has started to shake out, with the Titans holding down fifth with a seven-point gap over sixth-placed AUT.
Having won 10 of their last 12 games, the veteran Titans line-up looms as a team no-one wants a part of with playoff hopes at stake down the stretch or at the national tourney.
The Northern Conference-leading Junior Tall Blacks/Breakers development team all-but booked themselves a place at the CBL Nationals with back-to-back-to-back wins.
Warming up for the Oceania Under-19 Championships in Adelaide from August 1-3, the JTB/Breakers increased their lead over the Western Bay Suns at the top to eight points with bonus point wins over basement boys Eastern Bays 117-49 and Tai Tokerau 106-46, and a solid 87-61 win over Counties/Te Wananga.
Centre Rob Loe produced a monster 24 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four steals in the rout of Eastern Bays, while Brook Ruscoe had 24 points and Tall Blacks triallist Tom Abercrombie had a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double against winless Tai Tokerau.
With just two games remaining in their regular season and having played between four and six games more than the rest of the top-five, which includes the Suns, Northside, Heat Reserves and Titans, the JTB/Breakers’ lead could disappear quickly in the closing rounds.
The Suns, Northside and Heat Reserves all picked up wins in round 11 to improve their claims for nationals qualification.
Guard Whare Bidois top-scored with 20 points and added six assists and eight steals, while four others scored in double-digits as the Suns defeated the Taupo Volcanoes 90-62 in Tauranga on Saturday.
Auckland Stars NBL point guard Tyrone Davey scored a round-high 34 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, while Campbell Ross had 15 points and 15 rebounds and Warrick Siddall 10 points and 13 rebounds as Northside delivered Counties their second loss of the round, 95-79 on Sunday.
Captain Dan Ryan produced 23 points and 12 rebounds and Valance McCarthy came off the bench to score 23 points for the Heat Reserves as they defeated Auckland 90-73 away from home on Friday night.
CBL Northern Conference – Round 11
Wednesday, July 9
Waikato Titans 132 (Ray Cameron 20) Pistons Development 82 (Jonathon Kraenzlin 21)
Friday, July 11
Heat Reserves 90 (Dan Ryan 23, Valance McCarthy 23) Auckland 73 (Daniel Kral 13, Duncan Smith 13)
Waikato Titans 106 (Puke Lenden 31) AUT University 98 (Jarrod Kenny 20, Houston O’Riley 20)
JTB/Breakers 117 (Rob Loe 24) Eastern Bays 49 (Daniel Apulu 18)
Saturday, July 12
Auckland 81 (Nikola Lakatus 18) Tai Tokerau 67 (Travis McIlroy 23)
Western Bay Suns 90 (Whare Bidois 20) Taupo Volcanoes 62 (Michael Wells 20)
Waikato Titans 79 (Puke Lenden 25) Heat Reserves 69 (Dan Ryan 16)
JTB/Breakers 106 (Brook Ruscoe 24) Tai Tokerau 46 (Travis McIlroy 16)
West Ballaz Massey 101 (Mattie Yukich 24) Eastern Bays 49 (Naibukusivoi Tubu 12)
JTB/Breakers 87 Counties/Te Wananga 61
Sunday, July 13
Northside 95 (Tyrone Davey 34) Counties/Te Wananga 79 (Joe Jackson 21)
CBL Northern Conference Standings (Round 11) (17KB pdf)
