The bottleneck known as the National Basketball League ladder remains no closer to being eased, with Round Thirteen of the 2009/10 season creating a new competition leader and a logjam heading into the New Year.
Gold Coast Blaze (10-7) climbed their way to the league’s summit after rebounding from an 81-91 loss to Adelaide on Wednesday night to topple Wollongong 88-84 at home on Sunday. Their lead is by the barest of margins, however, with the Hawks and Perth Wildcats breathing down their neck on nine wins and seven losses.
Two other teams sitting bumper-to-bumper at the start of the round – Townsville and New Zealand – put their post-season credentials to the test on Thursday night, the Crocs prevailing 87-80 and consigning the Breakers to their third-straight loss at the North Shore Events Centre.
With Corey Williams (19 points, six steals, five assists) penetrating the lanes in the second half and Peter Crawford (19 points) lighting it up from long-range, the visitors kept their season series against the Breakers alive, which could prove crucial in a year where the win-loss column alone may not be capable of sorting the contenders from the pretenders.
After seemingly finding their niche in front of raucous home crowds at NSEC and heading into the season as championship favourites, the Breakers appeared to have broken the shackles of mediocrity that have so often accompanied New-Zealand-based teams participating in Australian sports leagues.
Now, with their playoff ambitions teetering on the brink and just four home games remaining, Andrej Lemanis’ men will have to announce themselves as road warriors if they’re to live up to the hype bestowed upon them by pre-season pundits.
They made a good start of that on Saturday night, however, defeating the Melbourne Tigers 77-68 at the State Netball and Hockey Centre.
After Rick Rickert’s (16 points, 13 rebounds) work under the basket kept the Breakers neck-and-neck with the Tigers for much of the contest, some clutch three-point shooting from Tony Ronaldson (13 points) and John Rillie (11 points) saw the visitors run away with a much-needed victory.
It was an unusual ambience at The Cage without suspended court announcer Wayne Peterson’s vociferous tones reverberating around the stadium, and even more foreign for Tigers fans is the prospect of their side missing the playoffs. Yet, languishing in the cellar with a 4-11 record and with Chris Anstey (0 points, 0-7 FG) showing he’s a long way off his peak, it is becoming an increasingly realistic proposition.
The Tigers next face Wollongong on Boxing Day before heading to Cairns for a New Year’s Eve clash against the Taipans, who scored a crucial 71-70 come-from-behind victory over the Hawks on Friday night.
While the Kerry Williams-inspired triumph kept the Snakes’ playoff hopes intact, its importance transcends this season’s standings. The club is currently seeking 2,010 membership pledges in order to submit a compliant expression of interest for season 2010/11. Having secured 945 applications thus far, a thrilling win in front of a parochial home crowd was the perfect advertisement for the local community to ensure their team’s future and maintain their region’s sole presence on the national sporting landscape.
The weekend’s results also heralded the return to form of the Adelaide 36ers, who notched a shock 82-70 road win over Perth on Saturday night to get themselves with reaching distance of the top-four.
With the Wildcats refusing to wilt and the Sixers heading into the clash with doubts over their psychological strength, the visitors could have been expected to melt under the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a sold-out Challenge Stadium on a 37-degree day. Instead, they played with tremendous self-belief which has hitherto escaped them this season, as centre Matt Burston (18 points, eight rebounds) showed his worth when healthy.
The two teams will meet again on Wednesday night at Brett Maher Court in the opening game of Round 14. With wins at a premium and the logjam tighter than ever, it promises to be a happy New Year’s round of hoops for Australian basketball fans.
Round 13 Results
‘Hood Sweeney’ Adelaide 36ers 91 (Adam Ballinger 28, John Gilchrist 18, Matt Burston 16)
defeated
Gold Coast Blaze 81 (James Harvey 20, Erron Maxey 13, Anthony Petrie 13)
Venue: Brett Maher Court at The Dome, Adelaide
Townsville ‘McDonald’s’ Crocodiles 87 (Corey Williams 19, Peter Crawford 19, Rolan Roberts 16)
defeated
‘Burger King’ New Zealand Breakers 80 (Kirk Penney 24, Rick Rickert 21, CJ Bruton 15)
Venue: North Shore Events Centre, Auckland, NZ
'Skytrans' Cairns Taipans 71 (Phill Jones 16, Gary Boodnikoff 16, Kerry Williams 15)
defeated
'ahm' Wollongong Hawks 70 (Tim Coenraad 13, Cameron Tragardh 12, Glen Saville 11)
Venue: Cairns Convention Centre, Queensland
‘Burger King’ New Zealand Breakers 77 (Rick Rickert 16, Tony Ronaldson 13, Kirk Penney 13)
defeated
Melbourne Tigers 68 (Julius Hodge 19, Mark Worthington 17, Sam Mackinnon 10)
Venue: State Netball Hockey Centre, Melbourne
‘Hood Sweeney’ Adelaide 36ers 82 (Matt Burston 18, Adam Ballinger 15, Nathan Herbert 12)
defeated
Perth Wildcats 70 (Shawn Redhage 21, Jesse Wagstaff 11, Luke Schenscher 10)
Venue: Challenge Stadium, Perth
Gold Coast Blaze 88 (Ayinde Ubaka 28, Chris Goulding 13, Anthony Petrie 13)
defeated
‘ahm’ Wollongong Hawks 84 (Tywain McKee 24, Cameron Tragardh 17, Glen Saville 12)
Venue: Gold Coast Convention Centre, Queensland
