City Lights, Dragons in ‘sudden death’

THE two best men’s teams in Gisborne club basketball will be confirmed tonight.

Defending champions City Lights and the Dragons play a semifinal at the YMCA at 6.30pm to decide who will play Old School in the final.

That game will be preceded by a game between Gisborne Boys’ High School and Lytton High School at 5.45pm, and followed by the playoff for fifth between Gisborne Boys’ High and SE Systems at 7.30pm. The playoff for seventh spot between Pure Sound and Campion College will be at 8.30pm.

Tomorrow night in the women’s league, Campion College will play Gisborne Girls’ High at 5.45pm, with Paikea playing Hearty at 6.30pm and Lytton meeting Ngati Porou at 7.30pm. The men’s minor final between fourth-placed East Coast and the loser of tonight’s semifinal will be played at 8.30pm.

The teams in tonight’s semifinal will need to play with both despertion and composure to advance to the grand final.

Until Week 6, three teams were locked at the top of the table — Old School, City Lights and the Dragons.

City Lights beat the Dragons 56-38. Seven days later, City Lights and Old School drew 53-all.

The Dragons will have experience on their side in veteran Bronson Te Hau, a thoughtful captain in Keenan Ruru-Poharama and the league’s tallest player in Jasper Wills plus such proven commodities as Te Ahi Te Hau-Otene and Te Angi Te Hau.

Were Ray Noble to turn out for the Dragons this evening, they would be twice as competitive at both ends of the floor.

The Dragons have the raw material to win a knockout game but City Lights skipper Scott Muncaster is supremely confident.

“We know how good we can be,” he said.

“I don’t count my chickens before they hatch but I can state now that we’ll show up, go hard from the tip and leave it all out on the floor.”

City Lights’ 54-51 win against Boys’ High a fortnight ago stung the defending champions, who — like the Dragons — are now at full strength.

Regardless of the result, what awaits the winner of semi No.2 — a final against Old School — is an enormous challenge.