Basketball New Zealand

Mika Vukona (Photosport)

The homegrown hope is gone, but Tall Blacks Mika Vukona and Craig Bradshaw will carry the New Zealand flag as the Australian NBL enters the post-season.

After threatening to quash the Burger King NZ Breakers’ hopes last Thursday, the pair helped Gold Coast Blaze overcome Melbourne Tigers 91-73 over the weekend to book a spot in the final four … and ultimately deprive the Breakers.

Vukona continued his dynamic form with 14 points (4/8 FG, 6/8 FT), four rebounds, two steals and two assists before fouling out, while Bradshaw had 11 points (4/7 FG, 1/4 3pt, 2/4 FT) and six rebounds.

The Blaze improved to 16-12 and locked down a semifinal showdown with regular season champions Perth Wildcats, beginning Thursday.

In the Australian WNBL, Kiwi shooter Lisa Pardon and her Bulleen Boomers rounded out their regular season with an emphatic 88-78 victory over defending champions Canberra Capitals to take out the regular season title with a 21-1 record.

Pardon did not take the court in a game that saw the Boomers overcome a 40-point game from Opals star Lauren Jackson. The encounter also saw a master-pupil coaching confrontation between Tom Maher and current Opals coach Carrie Graf, both former Tall Ferns coaches.

Former Ferns captain Aneka Davis sat out Townsville Fire’s 88-58 home win over Bendigo Spirit with an injured ankle, but is expected back in action for their home elimination game against Bendigo this week.

Townsville finished with a 14-8 record.

In other games, Ferns forward Natalie Purcell recorded a near triple double of 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, but could not spark Logan Thunder to victory over the visiting Spirit.

International team-mate Suzie Bates had 10 points (4/9 FG, 2/5 3pt), six rebounds and three assists, but the 82-86 loss left Logan with a 7-15 record for the season and well out of the playoff hunt.

In Turkey, Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic steered bottom-of-the-table Darussafaka to their second consecutive win, a 71-52 result over Oyak Renault.

Former NBA guard Quincy Douby, the TBL’s leading scorer, had 27 points and Darussafaka, winless when Vucinic took over in early January, are now 3-16.

On February 27, Darussafaka face their much-anticipated showdown with the second-worst team in the competition – Kepez Bld, guided by former Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin – and a chance of climbing out of the competition cellar.

In Switzerland, Kiwi Brendon Polyblank and his Fribourg team fell 68-71 to archrivals Lugano, slipping to 18-5 for the season. Polyblank had nine points and watched former Wellington Saints team-mate Mike Efevberha score 14 in opposition.

In Italy, Tall Ferns forward Jillian Harmon had a double double of 18 points/14 rebounds, along with two steals, two blocks and an assist, but her Pool Comense outfit fell 53-65 to second-placed Faenza in the Lega A.

Comense are 6-9 for the season.

In US college basketball, Tall Ferns guard Micaela Cocks helped University of Oregon maintain a four-game winning streak with success over University of Arizona and Arizona State University.

Cocks was relatively quiet offensively against Arizona, scoring seven points (2/9 FG, 3/4 FT), but grabbing eight rebounds, three assists and a steal in the 92-74 home win.

She was instrumental in Oregon’s comeback against ASU, rallying from 11 points down early in the second half to edge ahead 82-81. Seven of Cocks’ 20 points came in the final minute of play – a trey to put her team up 78-72 and 4/4 from the line as Arizona State played catch-up.

The Ducks are now 16-8 for the season, 7-5 and tied for third in the Pac-10 Conference.
Ferns rookie guard Erin Rooney helped Monmouth University defeat Wagner University 69-56, contributing 12 points (3/9 FG, 2/4 3pt, 4/4 FT), five rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Monmouth are now 14-11 and 9-5 in the North East Conference.