Stars Clinch, Little Satisfaction
Tagged in: Competitions, NBL
When a sports team clinches a playoff berth, there is usually high-fiving and awkward man-hugging, maybe a little champagne spray flying, but at least some smiles of satisfaction.
But none were present in the Youthtown Auckland Stars locker room on Saturday night at the Edgar Centre.
The Stars (9-7) did become the sixth and last team to confirm their place in the six-team Dominion Finance NBL Playoffs in round 14 with a 78-76 escape act against the Cartridge World Otago Nuggets (2-15) in Dunedin, but Kenny Stone sounded like the coach of an eliminated team.
“Disappointment,” said Stone from Wellington Airport, as the Stars attempted to get back to Auckland on Sunday, after their morning Dunedin to Auckland flight was cancelled.
“It felt like a loss, to me it did. The only good thing to come out of the game was that we clinched a playoff spot, but it still felt like a loss. It was a tough game and that seems to happen every game down here.
“If we don’t shoot the ball well, if we shoot it like we did last night, you’re not going to win many games, so we were lucky to get away with one.”
Auckland shot 19 percent (5-of-26) on three-point attempts and an anemic 39 percent (7-of-18) from the free-throw line but got a season-high 37 points from forward Adrian Majstrovich to hold off a fourth quarter Nuggets fight-back and survive a potential game-winning three in the final seconds.
Majstrovich, who has battled injuries this season, was able to pick apart the zone defence of the Nuggets, who had five NBL rookies on their under-manned 10-man roster, and shot 16-of-24 from the field, including three treys, also adding seven rebounds.
“The first couple of shots he knocked down were threes and he just went from there. He has games like that and it’s hard to stop. We just supported him.”
With a place in the postseason assured, at the expense of Devon Dynamos Taranaki (7-9), Stone and the Stars can now look to push themselves further up the standings.
Auckland tip-off round 15 tomorrow afternoon, with a Queen’s Birthday Monday match-up in Taradale against the Easy LPG Bay Hawks, who they share a 9-7 record with - their third road game in five days and the third in a stretch of four games in eight days.
Stone said having the toughest finishing schedule, which ends with the Waikato Pistons (12-5) on Thursday night, would help prepare them for the playoffs, enthused the team was finally healthy again.
“It’s nice to have the same group together and we just need to continue to improve and working together . . . it’s nice to clinch but we need to improve and we didn’t do that last night.”
So with the Stars clinching, the field for the NBL Playoffs has been set, but only the regular season champion Century City Wellington Saints (14-4) have confirmed their finishing position, with all five remaining teams still in contention to host a playoff game.
Wellington, who sit out the final round with a bye, secured the franchise’s third regular season title with a 96-90 win over the Stars on Thursday, then put an exclamation on it with a record-setting 117-78 blow-out over the Property Brokers Manawatu Jets (4-12) on Saturday.
The Appliance Shed Harbour Heat (11-6), CPS Nelson Giants (10-6) and Hawks (9-7) also clinched their playoff berths in round 14.
The Heat shot 17-of-34 on three-pointers, from seven different players, as they upset the second-placed Pistons 92-84 in Te Awamutu on Thursday, getting 22 points from Australian forward Oscar Forman.
A win in their final game against the Dynamos, paired with a Waikato loss to Auckland, would see the Heat finish second and advance to the semifinals.
The Giants sealed their fifth straight playoff appearance with an 81-72 win over Taranaki, while the Hawks became the Marley Canterbury Rams (5-12) first victim at home this season, 86-79, but returned to the postseason, also for the fifth consecutive season, courtesy of the Dynamos loss.
Dominion Finance NBL Round 14
Thursday, May 29
At TSB Bank Arena, Wellington
Century City Wellington Saints 96 (Ernest Scott 21, Lindsay Tait 12, Nick Horvath 12, Arthur Trousdell 12, Luke Martin 12, Brendon Polyblank 11, Kevin Owens 10) Youthtown Auckland Stars 90 (Casey Frank 25, George Baker 14, Adrian Majstrovich 14, Dillon Boucher 13, Reece Cassidy 13)
1Q: 25-21
HT: 47-36 (22-15)
3Q: 71-64 (24-28)
FT: 96-90 (25-26)
At Te Awamutu Events Centre, Te Awamutu
Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 92 (Oscar Forman 22, Hayden Allen 19, Tim Behrendorff 15, Jarrod Kenny 12, Mika Vukona 11) Waikato Pistons 84 (Jason Crowe 24, Brian Wethers 22, Pero Cameron 10)
1Q: 17-19
HT: 47-41 (30-22)
3Q: 73-61 (26-20)
FT: 92-84 (19-23)
At Trafalgar Centre, Nelson
CPS Nelson Giants 81 (Michael Fitchett 21, Michael Harrison 17, Phill Jones 14, Jamil Terrell 14, Chris Daniel 13) Devon Dynamos Taranaki 72 (Aaron Nowell 24, Keith Salscheider 16, Link Abrams 10)
1Q: 19-20
HT: 40-37 (21-17)
3Q: 63-56 (23-19)
FT: 81-72 (18-16)
At Cowles Stadium, Christchurch
Marley Canterbury Rams 86 (Jeremy Kench 22, John Whorton 19, Dave Langrell 14) Easy LPG Bay Hawks 79 (Kareem Johnson 20, Clifton Bush 17, Kevin Smith 12, Paul Henare 11)
1Q: 21-24
HT: 41-44 (20-20)
3Q: 69-60 (28-16)
FT: 86-79 (17-19)
Saturday, May 31
At Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
Century City Wellington Saints 117 (Ernest Scott 18, Nick Horvath 18, Troy McLean 18, Kevin Owens 14, Lindsay Tait 13, Arthur Trousdell 11) Property Brokers Manawatu Jets 78 (Keith Davis 25, Kantrail Horton 20)
1Q: 34-24
HT: 63-45 (29-21)
3Q: 93-65 (20-30)
FT: 117-78 (24-13)
At Lion Foundation Arena, Dunedin
Youthtown Auckland Stars 78 (Adrian Majstrovich 37, Reece Cassidy 11) Cartridge World Otago Nuggets 76 (Brent Charleton 27, Antoine Tisby 24, Shaun Tilby 10)
1Q: 23-15
HT: 48-40 (25-25)
3Q: 63-56 (15-16)
FT: 78-76 (15-20)
