Anamata Haku goes up for a basket as Paul Henare (right) waits for a rebound. Photo/Paul Taylor
Having slipped on a banana skin the night before in Palmerston North, what was the best thing for the Hawks to do the next night?
Sidestep any treacherous peels on the basketball court, of course.
It took five minutes of overtime but the IMS Payroll-sponsored Bay franchise team did stop the rot with a 94-89 victory last night at the Pettigrew-Green Arena in Napier to claim the minor premiership crown of the Bartercard National Basketball League (NBL).
It was high-octane stuff as arena security officers and referees Melony Wealleans and Gareth Teahan joined in to restrain Zerofees Southland Sharks coach/player Paul Henare as he stalked Hawke’s Bay whistle blower Apai Apai who made a beeline for the officials’ room at the end of the match.
Asked if he was unhappy with Apai, Henare replied: “Everyone in New Zealand is unhappy with Apai.
“Nothing changes but I’m not going to comment on him any further,” he said, adding the defending champions preferred to focus on the remaining three games as they sit on the top four with the Final Four beckoning in Wellington early next month.
“We’re going to use this disappointment to drive us to get to Wellington and push from there.”
Other irate Sharks players followed Bay-born former Tall Black Henare but calm heads prevailed.
“We wanted to win this game so we’re not happy with the result at all,” Henare lamented.
“We had the game in the bag but we let them have too many open shots in the third and fourth quarters so we’re not happy at all.”
But the night belong to the Tab Baldwin-coached Hawks and the half-full PG Arena who made enough noise for a full one.
Hawks point guard Jarrod Kenny, who scored 21 points and was the catalyst the hosts needed in the final fling, said the game had the intensity of a playoff which was what they needed.
“We have secured the No 1 spot so no one can take that away from us so we’re pleased we could get it done in front of the fans,” a beaming Kenny said after the sides were locked 80-80 in regulation time.
The stand-in captain said it was tough without inspirational leader Paora Winitana, a Mormon bishop who doesn’t play on Sundays, but the troops never lost faith.
“The crowd was so loud out there that we could hardly hear ourselves thinking at times,” he said, mindful it was a Sunday turnout but urged support towards the playoffs.
The first quarter went to the Hawks, 25-21, as the Sharks set the pace.
Slowly but surely the Hawks clawed their way back even though Henare got on the court with a shade more than a minute to go.
The table-topping hosts looked like men possessed, hell-bent on ensuring they weren’t going to lose their unblemished record – now “eight and oh” at the Taradale venue – on the heels of an 88-84 defeat to the Jets the night before.
Ditto the second-placed Sharks who were coming off loss to the Waitakere Rangers on Saturday in Auckland.
In the second quarter, Hawks US import Kareem Johnson glared at referee Wealleans for not calling a contact on offense but minutes later found ref Teahan pinging him for a travelling violation while going for a lay up.
However, the hosts had a more pressing issue to contend with – that is, gifting Sharks import Kevin Braswell and Brian Conklin, who finished with 20 points each, too much space and time for a look in.
“Mr Reliable” Everard Bartlett, with a game-high 29 points, and Kenny kept things ticking over.
The spell finished with the Southerners going into the locker room up 43-40.
The third quarter also went to the Sharks, 22-17, as they muscled up to push the Hawks into committing unforced errors.
The final quarter started with as much intensity as the first as players sucked in reserve fuel.
Bartlett and bench forward Darryl Jones (12pts, 6 reb) dropped a few bombs between them from the carpark to see the Hawks trail 70-75.
It was Henare’s turn to remonstrate with Wealleans but it was Kenny who dropped one from outside the arc before reloading for another as the Hawks snuck ahead 75-76. Scott collected two off a rebound, too.
With 17 seconds left, the Hawks led 78-77 as Tai Wesley and Johnson exchanged handbags.
Bartlett added two from the free-throw line but Luke Martin dropped a three to level 80-80.
The clocked was tweaked with every fraction of a second debated.
In extra time, Bartlett dropped another three, Scott blocked and Jones got fouled out.
With 1:09 remaining, Marco Alexander found himself kissing the floor from a Martin shove with the scores locked on 85-85. The apprentice point guard made them pay with two from the charity line before Johnson followed up with a jump shot.
Bartlett then made good on the break from a failed reply from the Sharks, 91-87 with 34.7 seconds remaining.
Johnson again had the arena squealing in delight with a steal and basket, 93-89.
Chants of “Off! Off! Off!” rang as Conklin came under scrutiny for a technical foul on Kenny.
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