Basketball New Zealand

Waikato Titans

The three-time defending Conference Basketball League champion Waikato Titans will open their title defence against the wildcard Turanga Health Rising Suns at the 2008 CBL Finals in Wellington on Thursday morning.

The Titans (as Waikato Red in 2005) have won back-to-back-to-back second division championships under coach Jeff Green but will have survive the team with the country’s best record and a team full of recently former NBL players in section play to make it a one more for four.

Waikato (20-4, 2nd Northern) have been drawn with Wellington, Harbour Heat Reserves and the Rising Suns in section A for the three-day national tournament at Southwest Stadium and Wellington East Girls College in the nation’s Capital.

With five recently former NBL players plus current Wellington Saints guard Troy McLean, Wellington (8-4, 2nd Central) should provide the Titans a strong challenge, while the Heat Reserves (21-3, 3rd Northern) posted the CBL’s best record.

Burger King Northside, who finished fourth in the Northern Conference, were forced to withdraw last weekend with Tall Black Corey Webster and BJ Anthony unavailable - Webster with the NZ Breakers in Australia and Anthony taking up a contract in Germany – which saw the Rising Suns (6-6, 3rd Central) get a wildcard invite.

A resurrected franchise headlines section B with the North Otago Penguins, who won three CBL titles in four years from 1997-2000, earning the Southern Conference’s sole bid in their return season.

The Penguins (2-0, 1st Southern) will be joined by the Central Conference champion Wellington Saints (8-4, 1st Central), Western Bay Suns (18-6, 2nd Northern) and Auckland (14-10, 6th Northern).

Games tip-off at Southwest Stadium at 9am Thursday, with further section games at 11am, 6pm and 8pm. Friday’s action starts at 10am, with the final round of section play at 12pm.

Cross-over games, including semifinals, go at 6pm and 8pm Friday night, before the tournament switches to Wellington East Girls College on Saturday for classification games, with the championship game scheduled for 7.30pm.

2008 Conference Basketball League Finals

Section A

Waikato Titans (20-4, 1st Northern)
Wellington (8-4, 2nd Central)
Harbour Heat Reserves (21-3, 3rd Northern)
Turanga Health Rising Suns (6-6, 3rd Central)

Section B

Wellington Saints (8-4, 1st Central)
North Otago Penguins (2-0, 1st Southern)
Western Bay Suns (18-6, 2nd Northern)
Auckland (14-10, 6th Northern)

Schedule

Thursday, August 28
9am: Section A – Harbour Heat Reserves vs Wellington
9am: Section B – Wellington Saints vs Auckland
11am: Section A – Turanga Health Rising Suns vs Waikato Titans
11am: Section B – Western Bay Suns vs North Otago Penguins
6pm: Section B – Wellington Saints vs Western Bay Suns
6pm: Section A – Waikato Titans vs Harbour Heat Reserves
8pm: Section B – North Otago Penguins vs Auckland
8pm: Section A – Wellington vs Turanga Health Rising Suns

Friday, August 29
10am: Section A - Turanga Health Rising Suns vs Harbour Heat Reserves
10am: Section B - Western Bay Suns vs Auckland
12pm: Section A - Waikato Titans vs Wellington
12pm: Section B - North Otago Penguins vs Wellington Saints
6pm: Game 1 - 3rd Section A vs 4th Section B (5th-8th)
6pm: Game 2 - 1st Section A vs 2nd Section B (Semifinal)
8pm: Game 3 - 3rd Section B vs 4th Section A (5th-8th)
8pm: Game 4 - 1st Section B vs 2nd Section A (Semifinal)

Saturday, August 30
2.30pm: Loser Game 1 vs Loser Game 3 (7th/8th)
4.15pm: Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 3 (5th/6th)
6pm: Loser Game 2 vs Loser Game 4 (3rd/4th)
7.30pm: Winner Game 2 vs Winner Game 4 (Final)

CBL Finals Schedule (41KB pdf)