The Central Pulse arrived in Tauranga having never beaten Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in nine previous attempts, but must have fancied their chances of a boilover at Baypark's TECT Arena last night after jumping to a 22-16 lead late in the second quarter.
In the end though, Magic, the transtasman league's perennial playoff participants, scored a sixth-straight win, downing the Pulse 52-42 with a near-flawless second half to continue their surge into semifinal country. The 10-goal margin was the same as in the sides' first meeting this season.
The Pulse had been flying high with three wins in a row of their own but ran out of puff. The game was vital for both sides gunning for the playoffs and both went into last night's clash, in front of another near-sellout crowd, on 10 competition points each.
But any outside chances the Pulse had of making the playoffs were doused by the Magic and they will have to regroup this week with the bye. Magic will aim to keep their season alive when they head to Auckland for a showdown with the Northern Mystics, with their record of making the playoffs every season the transtasman league has been in existence still very much a reality.
Laura Langman said the team weren't getting ahead of themselves despite moving to fifth spot with the win, which leaves them one victory outside of the top four.