The road towards the National Basketball League playoffs is set for a pulsating climax after the penultimate round set up a three-way fight for top spot and five teams vying for post-season action.
The Perth Wildcats (16-11) appeared to have relinquished their hold on first place after being overrun by Gold Coast Blaze 86-73 on Friday night, coming on the back of a 79-76 loss to the Phill Jones (25 points)-inspired Cairns Taipans two nights earlier.
The successive defeats saw the Blaze (15-11) reacquaint themselves with the league’s summit while the Wildcats headed to Melbourne to complete their hectic road trip against a Tigers side battling to save its season.
With the Wildcats playing their third game in four nights and Luke Schenscher and Galen Young fouling out to join injured guard Brad Robbins on the sidelines, the odds appeared to be firmly stacked in the Tigers’ favour.
However, the visitors showed an impenetrable resolve which will hold them in good stead for the playoffs as Kevin Lisch (17 points) again nailed crucial baskets down the stretch, Stephen Weigh (10 points, eight rebounds) oozed explosive athleticism and Shawn Redhage (17 points) put an otherwise forgettable week behind him.
The gutsy win provided much-deserved celebrations for the rabid group of travelling ‘Cats supporters who paid up to $3,299 for the round’s ‘Tour of Duty’, and commiserations for Tigers fans as their team turns its focus towards the dawn of a new era.
Perth’s focus, however, is now on a blockbuster clash with Townsville (2nd, 15-11) at Challenge Stadium on Sunday which will signal the end of the regular season and potentially decide top spot.
If the Wildcats prevail they will guarantee themselves a higher seeding than the Crocs, who notched an 89-76 victory over Cairns (7th, 11-16) at ‘The Swamp’ on Saturday night.
If the Crocs succeed, however, and also beat Adelaide (8th, 10-16) on Wednesday they will clinch the minor premiership, while a 1-1 split and two Gold Coast victories would see the Blaze complete their transition from worst to first.
Exemplifying the equality of this season is the fact that the Blaze and Crocs will both be simultaneously fighting for top place and their playoff lives, as it’s possible that neither of them will have splits over Wollongong nor New Zealand, meaning they could still miss the finals.
While occupancy of the league’s apex brings home court advantage throughout the finals series, it may also be a poisoned chalice if the New Zealand Breakers sneak into fourth place.
The Breakers (5th, 13-13) continued their late-season revival with a dominant 88-60 win over Wollongong on Thursday night.
The Kiwis played with ruthless aggression on defence, picking the Hawks’ pockets on a season-high 12 occasions, and exhibited the class and desire of a team capable of challenging for the championship. For that to occur, however, the Breakers must aim to beat Gold Coast by more than seven points at NSEC on Thursday night and hope for the Blaze, Crocs or Hawks to falter.
The Hawks (4th, 14-12) could have been expected to bow out of the top-four after such a demoralising loss, but a 100-88 home win over Gold Coast on Saturday night suggested otherwise.
Mat Campbell (23 points, 5/8 3pt FG) and Tim Coenraad (19 points, 4/4 3pt FG) reinforced why Wollongong’s the most efficient team from long-range and they can now officially serve up some humble pie to the myriad of pre-season pundits who wrote them off by winning one of their two remaining games.
Those games are against Melbourne and Adelaide, who will join Cairns in the other battle of Round 20 – the fight to avoid the wooden-spoon.
It’s a fight that none of the teams envisaged being part of, but from a fan’s perspective it will only add to the intrigue of what will be a thrilling finale to the 2009/10 home-and-away season.
Round 19 Results:
'Skytrans' Cairns Taipans 79 (Phill Jones 25, Julien ‘Skip’ Mills 16, Rich Melzer 15)
defeated
Perth Wildcats 76 (Stephen Weigh 15, Kevin Lisch 13, Luke Schenscher 10)
Venue: Cairns Convention Centre, Queensland
‘Burger King’ New Zealand Breakers 88 (Kirk Penney 23, CJ Bruton 19, Tony Ronaldson 10)
defeated
Wollongong ‘ahm’ Hawks 60 (Tim Coenraad 12, Cameron Tragardh 12, Mat Campbell 8)
Venue: North Shore Events Centre, Auckland, New Zealand
Gold Coast Blaze 86 (Adam Gibson 23 points, Erron Maxey 19, Anthony Petrie 15)
defeated
Perth Wildcats 73 (Shawn Redhage 13 points, Damian Martin 12, Martin Cattalini 11)
Venue: Gold Coast Convention Centre, Queensland
Wollongong 'ahm' Hawks 100 (Mat Campbell 23, Tim Coenraad 19, Rhys Martin 15)
defeated
Gold Coast Blaze 88 (Erron Maxey 21, Adam Gibson 14, Chris Goulding 14)
Venue: WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, New South Wales
Perth Wildcats 84 (Shawn Redhage 17, Kevin Lisch 17, Stephen Weigh 10)
defeated in Overtime
'OAMPS' Melbourne Tigers 78 (Julius Hodge 24, Mike Rose 12, Chris Anstey 10)
Venue: State Netball Hockey Centre, Melbourne, Victoria
Townsville 'McDonald's' Crocodiles 89 (Russell Hinder 18, Brad Williamson 17, Corey Williams 15)
defeated
'Skytrans' Cairns Taipans 76 (Dusty Rychart 17, Gary Boodnikoff 14, Julien Mills 12)
Venue: Townsville Entertainment & Convention Centre, Queensland
