Tourney To Test Giants
Tagged in: In The News, NBL
Pete McNae, Nelson Mail
The Nelson Giants get the chance to blow the sand out of their shoes at the Southern Showcase pre-season basketball tournament in Christchurch this weekend.
After a few gruelling months pounding along Tahunanui Beach, three matches in two days should seem like a walk in the park for the Fico Finance Giants.
Coach Chris Tupu’s team has been focusing on fitness until now, but this weekend will give him a chance to see how the squad is shaping up with just two weeks left until the start of the Bartercard national league.
Although Australian NBL players Mika Vukona, Phill Jones and Tony Rampton haven’t yet made it back to Nelson, the Giants have put in a handful of solid weeks in the gym and are ready to test the things they have learned.
“We’re not going to see Phill and Ramps until maybe game day in two weeks’ time and Mika might be even later than that, so this group we have now is the one that will carry us right up until we play that first NBL match.
“It’s been ticking over – we still have a lot to work on, but it’s been solid – so the games this weekend are an ideal chance for 10 guys to show me what they’ve absorbed,” Tupu said.
The Giants have grabbed a headstart on most other NBL franchises by bringing American forward Michael Harrison into the country a month ahead of the league’s opening. He’s impressed his coach early in his second stint with Nelson.
“Mike’s a more polished player than we had 18 months ago. He’s got that versatility, the ability to play three positions comfortably and create mismatches with either his length, his speed or his ballhandling.”
Harrison will be tested early when the Giants take on NBL newcomers, Southland Sharks.
In their debut season, the Sharks have gone big with their roster, signing 2.13m Kiwi-Australian centre Martin Iti, a 2.08m American forward and 2.03m former Manawatu Jet Gareth Dawson.
With Rampton and Vukona absent, there will be a heavy burden on Harrison’s slender shoulders. “Mike might not beat the biggest guys for physicality but he’s 6′9″ [2.06m], has very long arms and he’s an athlete, so I have no fears for him.”
The Southland game will open the tournament tonight, with matches to follow against Otago at 1pm tomorrow and host team, the Christchurch Cougars, in the evening.
Tupu is looking for signs that his travelling 10 are building towards their first league outing in Waikato on March 4.
“Of course, we’d like to have the other three guys with us now but I already have a fair idea what they can do for us. What I don’t know is which of the younger guys will step up and how far they can come.
“That’s what the pre-season is about – trying a few things with no competition points at stake, discarding what doesn’t work and getting the best from the rest.
“With Fico Finance joining the Giants team and Bartercard getting in behind the league, there’s obviously a good feeling around basketball and we want to hit that court running when we play our first game.”
The Fico Finance Nelson Giants to play in the Southern Showcase tournament this weekend are: Harrison, Mike Fitchett, Darryl Jones, Josh Bloxham, Ben Wright, Steve Bill, Bronson Beri, Nico Ritschny, Sam Dempster and Tom Ingham.
