Basketball New Zealand

Wellington Saints forward Leon Henry (Photosport)

Basketball seasons came to a close for four New Zealanders in Europe in the past week.

Wellington Saints forward Leon Henry and former Tall Blacks head coach Tab Baldwin were bounced from the Divizia A playoffs in Romania after their U Mobitelco Cluj-Napoca team fell 89-87 in the deciding game of their quarterfinal series against CSU Atlassib Sibiu on Monday.

Henry, in his first major professional season, provided two points (1/2 FG, 0/1 3pt, 0/1 FT) and a rebound in five minutes court time in game three as Cluj gave away a fourth quarter lead to fall 2-1 in the series.

It was a better finish for Harbour Heat forward BJ Anthony and former Tall Blacks point guard Mark Dickel.

Anthony had 18 points (7/11 FG, 1/1 3pt, 3/6 FT), nine boards, two assists and two steals in 25 minutes as Herzoge Wolfenbuttel defeated Franken Hexer 92-81 to finish out the Bundesliga D2-Pro B regular season on Sunday.

The former Junior Tall Black averaged 13.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in just under 24 minutes per game in his first professional season, shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 58.2 percent on free-throws, as Wolfenbuttel finished second at 22-8.

Dickel scored five points (1/3 FG, 1/1 3pt, 2/4 FT) with three assists and two rebounds in 21 minutes as his AS Trikala club were defeated 68-61 on the road by Aris Thessaloniki in the final round of the Greek A1 league on Thursday.

Trikala avoided relegation, finishing 12th at 6-20, after closest challenger Egaleo also fell in their final game.

Tall Blacks centre Craig Bradshaw posted nine points (3/11 FG, 3/4 FT), eight rebounds and an assist in 24 minutes in a 101-60 road loss for Grupo Begar Leon at Tenerife Rural in round 31 of the LEB Gold in Spain on Saturday.

Leon currently holds the last playoff spot, sitting ninth at 16-15, on points difference with three regular season games remaining but host top-ranked CB Valladolid on Sunday.

Across the Ditch, Tall Ferns point guard Angela Marino scored a game-high 24 points (7/20 FG, 4/10 3pt, 6/11 FT), with two assists and two steals in 37 minutes as her Sturt Sabres defeated the Woodville Warriors 60-59 at home in round five of the Central ABL competition on Saturday, leaving the defending champs fifth at 3-2.

Former Ferns guard Lisa Pardon collected 16 points (6/10 FG, 3/6 3pt, 1/1 FT), five boards, two assists and two steals in 32 minutes but the Bulleen Boomers fell 67-63 at home to Waverley in round five of the Big V on Sunday, leaving the Boomers third at 4-2.

Also in the Big V, Waikato junior Te Puao Silver had three points (1/6 FG, 1/2 FT), four rebounds and a steal in 10 minutes for the unbeaten leaders Melbourne (6-0) in a 102-62 win over Bulleen in round five of the Youth League on Satuday.

Kerr sisters, Gemma and Tania, had minor contributions as the Kilsyth Lady Cobras fell 87-52 on the road to the Brisbane Lady Spartans in round seven of the SEABL on Saturday.

Gemma Kerr had five points (0/7 FG, 0/3 3pt, 5/6 FT), four boards and a steal in 28 minutes while Tania Kerr added four points (1/8 FG, 1/3 3pt, 1/4 FT), three rebounds and a steal in 13 minutes as Kilsyth dropped to ninth at 1-4.

In Queensland, former Otago Nuggets guard Shaun Tilby had eight points (4/13 FG, 0/2 3pt), six rebounds, two assists and two steals in 40 minutes as his Gold Coast Goannas picked up an 87-69 road win over the South West Metro Pirates in the opening round of the QBL on Saturday.

Zeke Meehl, younger brother of Emerging Tall Black Zane Meehl, scored 10 points (4/6 FG, 2/4 3pt) with three assists, a steal and rebound in 15 minutes but the Maroochydore Clippers opened their QBL season with a 103-97 home loss to the Caboolture Suns on Saturday.