Regular Season Done . . .
Tagged in: Competitions, NBL
After their tense and intense three-point win over the CPS Nelson Giants on Friday night, all the Easy LPG Bay Hawks could do was wait.
Waiting to hear from New Plymouth or Palmerston North if the Appliance Shed Harbour Heat or Giants had tripped up against non-playoff opponents on the final night of the Dominion Finance NBL regular season and waiting to learn if they would be at home for the first game of the postseason.
And the hoops gods delivered for the Hawks – gifting them upsets and a home quarterfinal in front of their raucous home crowd at Pettigrew.Green Arena on Tuesday night.
The Hawks completed their regular season with back-to-back home wins over the Youthtown Auckland Stars and Giants to finish 11-7, still needing results to go their way the following night to secure fourth.
“We took it this way, we didn’t really care,” Hawks coach Shawn Dennis said.
“We looked at it as you worry about the things you can control. We thought it was great to get those two close wins and we’d play wherever we ended up.
“The six-team playoffs, I think it’s worked because there was so much excitement going into the last round and, apart from first and second, none of the other positions were set. And that’s great for the League.”
The Heat (11-7) and Giants (10-8) did their part on Saturday night, Harbour losing 87-79 to Devon Dynamos Taranaki (9-9) and Nelson getting rocked 113-87 by the young Property Brokers Manawatu Jets (5-13).
It leaves the Hawks hosting the Giants in the first quarterfinal of the NBL Playoffs on Tuesday night at Taradale.
“But we’re happy to play at home, in front of two-and-a-half thousand fans . . . I’d much rather play here than Nelson, because we know what we’d get from Nelson. There’s no doubt that as things went on Friday night, the crowd gave us a lift. That’s the great thing about playing in places like Hawke’s Bay and Nelson, you get great support in the provinces.”
The Hawks take momentum into the playoffs after coming back from 13 points down with seven minutes remaining to beat the Giants, who got season-best nights from retired Tall Black Phill Jones (40 points) and American forward Jamil Terrell (22 points).
Point guard Paul Henare had a season-high 23 points, five assists and four steals, while import centre Kareem Johnson produced a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Bay, who finished 7-2 at home.
Another balanced offensive night from the Hawks saw guard Aidan Daly finish with 18 points and Paora Winitana make four treys in his 17 points.
Despite Saturday’s loss to the Dynamos (9-9), in which they shot 25 percent on three-point attempts, Harbour remained third in the standings, now setting-up a rematch with Taranaki in the second quarterfinal on Wednesday.
Taranaki, who ended tied with the Stars at 9-9 but lost out on head-to-head tie-breaker, got big performances from American shooting guard Keith Salscheider, forward Link Abrams and centre Tony Rampton as they salvaged something from their season. They defeated the Jets 76-73 on Wednesday, with Abrams and Rampton combining for 34 rebounds.
The Dynamos made it into the playoffs after the sixth-placed Stars were ruled ineligible for the playoffs by the NBL board on Monday for failing to pay the final part of their franchise entry fee.
On Thursday night, the Waikato Pistons (13-5) shook off a three-game losing funk to roll the Stars (9-9) 94-79 at Kohimarama to secure second place and a home semifinal next Friday night at Te Awamutu, taking advantage of Stars forward Casey Frank fouling out in the third period.
Scoring champion Brian Wethers had 30 points for Waikato, while fellow American guard Jason Crowe dropped five assists to easily win the assists title.
Cartridge World Otago Nuggets centre Antoine Tisby pulled down 12 rebounds to take the rebounding crown but could not prevent his Nugs from losing their ninth straight game, falling 68-63 to the Marley Canterbury Rams (6-12) in Christchurch.
Under-manned Otago (2-16) led for much of the game but faded in the fourth period, as Rams American centre John Whorton stepped up with 22 points and 12 boards.
Dominion Finance NBL Round 15
Monday, June 2
At Pettigrew.Green Arena, Taradale
Easy LPG Bay Hawks 99 (Kevin Smith 26, Paora Winitana 24, Aidan Daly 16, Kareem Johnson 12) Youthtown Auckland Stars 95 (Casey Frank 34, Adrian Majstrovich 21, George Baker 11)
Wednesday, June 4
At TSB Stadium, New Plymouth
Devon Dynamos Taranaki 76 (Link Abrams 24, Keith Salscheider 16, Tony Rampton 13) Property Brokers Manawatu Jets 73 (Kantrail Horton 23, Keith Davis 16, James Paringatai 12)
Thursday, June 5
At ASB Stadium, Auckland
Waikato Pistons 94 (Brian Wethers 30, Jason Crowe 24, Puke Lenden 11) Youthtown Auckland Stars 79 (Tyrone Davey 16, Dylan Perfect-Tait 16, Dillon Boucher 10)
Friday, June 6
At Pettigrew.Green Arena, Taradale
Easy LPG Bay Hawks 90 (Paul Henare 23, Aidan Daly 18, Paora Winitana 17, Kareem Johnson 15) CPS Nelson Giants 87 (Phill Jones 40, Jamil Terrell 22, Michael Harrison 10)
Saturday, June 7
At Cowles Stadium, Christchurch
Marley Canterbury Rams 68 (John Whorton 22, Joey Harrell 14, Gerard Bowden 10) Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 63 (Antoine Tisby 20, Darryl Jones 19, Shaun Tilby 11)
At Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
Property Brokers Manawatu Jets 113 (Kantrail Horton 31, Keith Davis 27, Piers Finch 15, Kaine Hokianga 11, James Paringatai 10, Paul Bristol 10) CPS Nelson Giants 87 (Chris Daniel 18, Christopher Reay 16, Michael Harrison 15, Phill Jones 11)
At TSB Stadium, New Plymouth
Devon Dynamos Taranaki 87 (Keith Salscheider 30, Tony Rampton 18, Link Abrams 13) Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 79 (Hayden Allen 28, Oscar Forman 15, Tim Behrendorff 11)
Round 15 games, scores and standings
