Basketball New Zealand

Basketball New Zealand

The Harbour Heat Reserves bumped their winning streak to eight games, while the Rising Suns of Gisborne put together back-to-back wins in week five of the Conference Basketball League (CBL) over Queen’s Birthday Weekend.

With a 74-66 win over Eastern Bays on Satuday and 105-81 rout over Counties/Te Wananga on Sunday, the Mexicali Fresh Heat Reserves improved to 8-0 after five rounds of North Conference play.

Harbour did it tough without their leading scorer Dan Ryan against a winless Eastern Bays squad on Saturday, needing 15 points from Heat NBL part-timer Sefo Leusogi-Ape and 14 points from former Auckland Star Karl Noyer to survive at Farm Cove.

Ryan returned to the line-up with a vengeance the following day, recorded the CBL’s first triple-double of the season, with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, to go with four steals, as Harbour buried Counties with a 35-point first quarter.

Burger King Northside and the 2007 CBL Champion Waikato Titans continued their standings ascension in round five.

Northside got 32 points from Corey Webster, a newly announced NZ Breakers development player, and 17 points and seven rebounds from Heat NBL player BJ Anthony as they escaped Tauranga with a 76-74 win.

Despite being out-scored 25-0 in bench scoring, Northside were able to come back from seven points down with six minutes remaining to steal the win.

Suns Canadian centre Mike King tied the scores at 74-74 with two free-throws with 37 seconds remaining, before Anthony made two-of-four freebies and Northside survived potential game-winning shots from King and Whare Bidois.

In Hamilton, Jeff Green’s Titans welcomed former Tall Black Ben Hill to their roster as an import, with the Waikato Pistons forward going for 20 points, including four threes, in their 75-71 win over the Taupo Volcanoes, who got 27 points from American guard James Carr.

The Volcanoes were able to end their seven-game funk to start the season, leaving Hamilton on Sunday with a 82-74 win over the Waikato Pistons Development team, a balanced offensive night seeing six players score in double figures.

Eastern Bays also notched their first win of 2008 in round five, 22 points from Antonello Tolutau boosting them to a 58-55 home win over the still-winless Tai Tokerau.

In Gisborne, the Turanga Health Rising Suns started the four-team Central Conference with two wins over the visiting Taranaki Panthers, posting a 68-44 win on Saturday and backing it up with an 80-59 blow-out on Sunday.

Reg Namana top-scored in both games for the Rising Suns, going for 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals in game one and 16 points and nine rebounds in game two. Guard Willie Banks had 14 points, six rebounds and four steals in Sunday’s win.

CBL Northern Conference – Round Five

Friday, May 30
Massey vs Burger King Northside, no result submitted
Saturday, May 31
Harbour Heat Reserves 74 (Sefo Leusogi-Ape 15) Eastern Bays 66 (Trent Ngaranoa 12)
AUT University 77 (Houston O’Riley 15) Auckland 55 (Daniel Kral 15)
Waikato Titans 75 (Ben Hill 20) Taupo Volcanoes 71 (James Carr 27)
Burger King Northside 76 (Corey Webster 32) Western Bay Suns 74 (Mike King 29)
Counties/Te Wananga vs Tai Tokerau, no result submitted
Sunday, June 1
Harbour Heat Reserves 105 (Dan Ryan 29) Counties/Te Wananga 81 (Joe Jackson 29)
Eastern Bays 58 (Antonello Tolutau 22) Tai Tokerau 55 (Thomas Whetu 14)
Taupo Volcanoes 82 (Michael Wells 17) Waikato Pistons Development 74 (Muka Silver 18)

CBL Central Conference – Round One

Saturday, May 31
Turanga Health Rising Suns 68 (Reg Namana 19) Taranaki Panthers 44 (Eli Paurini 15)
Sunday, June 1
Turanga Health Rising Suns 80 (Reg Namana 16) Taranaki Panthers 59 (Andrew Green 18)