SECOND are the first losers and, if that's not convincing enough, take a moment to dwell on who the hell ever remembers the bridesmaids when the confetti hits the floor after the net is gleefully snipped off the basketball rim.
Any other time that would be gospel but tonight - maybe, just maybe - the Cinderellas of the Bartercard National Basketball League (NBL) will not lose sleep should they stumble purely because, by virtue of having qualified for the play-offs, the HBS Bank Hawks and the Auckland Pirates will have another chance to try on the missing glass slipper at the end of the month to determine who'll ride off into the sunset with the 2012 bragging rights.
No doubt, the top two can't be smug because the two ugly sisters - from either the Taranaki Mountain Airs, Manawatu Jets, Wellington Saints or the Nelson Giants - could throw a spanner in the works during the semifinals.
But first things, first. It'll be the Hawks' final home game at the Pettigrew-Green Arena, Taradale, today in the 7pm tip-off before they hit the road to Auckland to play a lowly Harbour Heat on Wednesday. Their final game against the Jets in Palmerston North is on Sunday, May 20.
The Paul Henare-coached Hawks have never won the minor premiership going into the play-offs and last weekend lost their No 1 perch on the rung of the NBL ladder to the Pirates.
Psychologically, it barks like a rabid dog for the Paora Winitana-captained outfit but, as Henare alludes to, it's not easy to keep the troops motivated when they have made the cut several rounds before the home-and-away matches are done and dusted.
If the New Zealand Breakers can go off the boil to clinch back-to-back ANBL titles what's stopping the Hawks?
Umm ... Alex Pledger, Dillon Boucher and, before he gets lost among the biggies, a placid-looking bloke called Lindsay Tait, a wannabe Breaker.
Secondly, the Hawks, who have stumbled during the play-offs of the past two NBL finals, don't have any Breakers in their ranks.
Henare, the 2010-11 ANBL title-winning captain, doesn't count.
The Hawks, who pipped the Pirates 82-80 on the road in round two minus Pledger and Boucher, have a stellar chance to put things right tonight in a match pundits believe is a dress rehearsal for the NBL final in Wellington on May 26.
But do the Hawks really care if they don't win the minor premiership?
Coming off two consecutive losses on the road to the Giants and the Saints in last week's double header, Henare reveals it's something the Hawks have talked about during their scrimmages this week.
Needless to say, the hosts would like to get the monkey off their backs in finishing at the top of the table although the Judd Flavell-coached Pirates have established a two-point lead on the Hawks after their 13th game against the Southland Sharks on Thursday night, winning it 107-89 on their home turf.
"It'll be an interesting game to see how the players react," he says, keen to see if the spectators will play their part in turning out in droves to fill the arena in a season when they haven't lost a single game.
The injection of Boucher and Pledger, who made their first appearances on Thursday night, could be the difference the Pirates are seeking in pegging back that two-point defeat in round two.
"Dillon brings experience and he has two more championships than any other player out there. He's been around so long he motivates others around him."
In the case of Pledger, Henare let's the stature do the talking.
"You can't teach seven feet. Many coaches will tell you you can't teach that skill," Henare says of the Breakers centre who averages 15 points in 18 minutes and whose dominance will surface once Flavell increases his time on the court.
"They'll create some challenges with the two big guys but they can only play them at a time. Juddy will have them slotting in early."
He acknowledges Tait is a class act, something he has been for several seasons and someone who is getting better with age.
Nevertheless, he hastens to add the Pirates have other players who can ignite them on the court to take the heat off the front-line players.
Going down the roster, there's shooting guard Hayden Allen who can drop baskets at will.
Power forward Ismail Muhammad, who top scored with 20 points and was one shy of rebounds for a double-double, is creating havoc with fellow American import small forward Ron Dorsey (19 points on Thursday night), a Melbourne Tiger and former Cairns Taipan professional who also has a penchant for slam dunking.
"This is probably as good as it gets. We're in for a shot although we're not playing as well," Henare says, adding losing tonight will see the Hawks lose another mini-goal they had set at the start of the season to finish on the top of the table.
Rookie Alonzo Burton, who didn't travel with the Hawks in the last two games, was in Auckland sitting his exams in the hope of making the cut for an American university scholarship to play basketball.
Flavell likes to think tonight's game will be a motivational drill for the Pirates.
The Breakers assistant coach feels his challenge is to bring Boucher and Pledger up to speed with the other players in the squad if Auckland hopes to beat the Hawks tonight.
"Hawke's Bay is very solid and balanced. There isn't any easy weakness that we can exploit," says Flavell, a former Hawks player.
While Boucher and Pledger will beef up their stocks, it's imperative the Pirates crash the glass.
"The teams who have done well against us have rebounded well for early baskets."
The absence of Pledger and Boucher meant young centre Nick Barrow had to step up at the start of the season.
"We've come together so quickly with a new coach and new systems."
Flavell, who coached the Heat two seasons ago before the franchise went into a year's hiatus, chose to go to the Pirates this year for a personal challenge.
The Auckland franchise had offered a programme of winning a championship whereas the Harbour counterparts wanted a coach who was tuned into the development structures.
"I jumped at the opportunity of helping pave a pathway to taking a side through to winning a championship."
Flavell says Tait isn't just their first-choice point guard but a proven leader, who has been flirting with a triple-double this season.
"When it comes down to the crunch we want the ball in his [Tait's] hands because he's our go-to guy."