Champs Streak Hits 10
Tagged in: CBL, Competitions
Coach Jeff Green has his team humming at the right end of the season.
The defending Conference Basketball League (CBL) champion Waikato Titans extended their winning streak to 10 games and moved up to third in round 13 of Northern Conference play last week.
The Titans, who will be looking for an unprecedented four-peat at next month’s CBL National Tournament, got easy points courtesy of a default win over the competition-leading JTB/Breakers on Wednesday, then avenged one of their four losses this season with a 95-65 bonus-point win over the second-placed Western Bay Suns on Saturday.
The Titans have not lost since June 14, improving to 15-4 and jumping over Northside and Harbour Heat Reserves in a consolidated top-five.
NBL Finals MVP Puke Lenden produced a double-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in a leading performance, while Kurtis Elliot added 18 points, four assists and three steals, Ray Cameron 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Earl Smith 12 points.
A 27-17 second quarter, including a 9-1 run near the end of the half, allowed the Titans to make a break on the suddenly struggling Suns, who lost their second straight game for the first time in 2008.
Western Bay, led by 16 points and six rebounds from Canadian centre Mike King, got as close as eight points in the third quarter, but the Titans scored the first seven points of the fourth period to take a 20-point lead, then scored the game’s final 13 points to make it a blow-out and send a message.
The Titans scored 19 second chance points on 18 offensive rebounds and scored 28 points off 25 Suns turnovers. Playing an unselfish game, Waikato provided 25 assists on 39 field goals, with six players with three or more.
The JTB/Breakers closed out their regular season with an 0-2 round – the default loss to the Titans and 89-74 loss to the Heat Reserves on Saturday – ending with an 18-6 record. The JTB/Breakers still hold an eight-point lead at the top but any of the four top-five teams could overtake them for the regular season title in the final three weeks.
Heat NBL bench player Dan Ryan had 30 points and six rebounds, while Reece Beardsall dropped 20 points and Valance McCarthy 18 points and eight rebounds as the Heat Reserves improved to 16-3.
NBL Auckland Stars guard Tyrone Davey poured in a round-high 35 points and Tall Black Corey Webster returned from international duty with 23 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals as Northside defeated AUT University 104-101.
Joshua Tuaiti hit seven threes in his team-high 25 points from AUT, while Houston O’Riley had 15 points and eight assists.
Auckland moved into sixth placed, ahead of AUT, a spot that could be important should a top-five team choose not to attend the CBL Nationals, while West Ballaz Massey also kept their dental floss-thin playoffs chances alive in round 13.
Auckland got 16 points and five assists from Daniel Kral in a bonus-point 87-62 win over Eastern Bays, who had Daniel Apulu with 26 points, while Bay Hawks NBL star Kevin Smith scored 24 points as Massey ended Counties/Te Wananga’s hopes with a 91-86 win on Saturday. Auckland Star Dylan Perfect-Tait had 25 points for Counties.
CBL Northern Conference – Round 13
Wednesday, July 23
Waikato Titans 20 JTB/Breakers 0 (by default)
Saturday, July 26
Harbour Heat Reserves 89 (Dan Ryan 30) JTB/Breakers 74 (Brook Ruscoe 13)
Pistons Development 65 (Justin Heurea 14) Taupo Volcanoes 63 (Michael Wells 15)
Waikato Titans 95 (Puke Lenden 32) Western Bay Suns 65 (Mike King 16)
Auckland 87 (Daniel Kral 16) Eastern Bays 62 (Daniel Apulu 26)
Northside 104 (Tyrone Davey 35) AUT University 101 (Joshua Tuaiti 25)
West Ballaz Massey 91 (Kevin Smith 24) Counties/Te Wananga 86 (Dylan Perfect-Tait 25)
Tai Tokerau vs Northside, deferred
