Basketball New Zealand

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Nelson Giants centre Ed Book (Photosport)

NZPA

Ed Book owes the script writers a Budweiser or two for gifting him the chance to add a champion’s closing chapter to his long basketball career.

Better still the American has also been granted the opportunity to do it at home, in front of friends and family.

The veteran Nelson centre is to hang up his singlet after the best-of-three National Basketball League (NBL) finals series against reigning champions Hawke’s Bay starting in Napier tomorrow night, ending a domestic career which began in 1994.

Now, 251 NBL matches later, Book, 37, gets to milk the finals series for all its worth when the teams head to Nelson for game two on Friday night and game three, if required, 24 hours later.

A Nelson regular since 2002, Book does not own a championship ring, having experienced that team’s two failed finals campaigns of 2002 and 2004, following earlier stints with Palmerston North, Wellington and Otago.

It is ironic to think that could all change, and at home of all places, at precisely the moment he is to step off from the court for good.

“What better way to go into retirement than with a championship title,” the 2.10m 2002-2006 Tall Blacks representative told NZPA as Nelson seek their first national league title since 1998.

“We’ve had some tough obstacles to overcome in the past few weeks and we’ve just knocked them off one by one.”

A week ago the odds were long at best that Nelson would have a chance to farewell their loyal servant in style. They faced an away semifinal against Waikato while Hawke’s Bay were also on the road against top qualifiers North Harbour.

The travellers won both games, leaving Book and Nelson two games away from a fairytale season finale.

“No one really gave us a chance to beat Waikato. Everyone said `we hope you do it, we hope you do it’, but you could tell no one gave us a chance,” he said.

“To beat a hot team like Waikato at their place was a huge result for us, but we believed in ourselves and we still believe in ourselves.”

Book enters the finals just 51 points short of becoming only the 10th player to reach the 5000-point landmark in the NBL. He was unaware of the possible milestone until told about it.

“Things like that come if you’ve been around long enough but a championship would mean much, much more to me than reaching 5000 points.”

Nelson have had the wood on Hawke’s Bay this season, beating them 105-91 at home and 95-86 in Napier during the regular season, but those results have no relevance this week.

“It’s finals time and in playoffs anything can happen.”

Hawke’s Bay will be strengthened by the return of Paora Winitana for the series, after he missed the semifinal against North Harbour due to religious convictions which do not allow him to play on Sundays.

Winitana’s presence offers his side a valuable go-to man and it will take a lot of pressure off fellow guard Paul Henare, who played such a huge role in the semifinal.

Books knows only too well how tough Hawke’s Bay will be.

“It’s not over, we still have the hard yards in front of us. Hawke’s Bay will not lay down for us.

“We know they play a very strong, physical game inside and they love to run the ball.

“We will have our hands full but I wouldn’t go to war with anyone other than the guys in my team.”