BASKETBALL - Bad lad Ekenasio changes tack

HAMISH BIDWELL
IT'S always nice when people confirm your hunches.
Like the one that the 0800 Easy LPG Hawks are pushovers and can be bullied by opposition teams in the NBL.
There have been notable exceptions, like Kareem Johnson's towering performance in the 2006 final and Paul Henare's in last year's semifinal but, by and large, teams know that if they win the physical exchanges they'll more than likely take out the game as well.
After five years with the Wellington Saints, new Hawks signing Damien Ekenasio is well aware of the way the team is regarded.
"At the Saints, that's what the coaches always said to us," Ekenasio said ahead of tonight's home-opener against the Taranaki Dynamos at Pettigrew-Green Arena.
"The message was always to play hard and when I've played against the Hawks, I've always gone in with the mentality of giving a few fouls and putting people on the floor if I need to.
"That's the perception out there but this year is going to be different and I'd like to be the one to show teams that they can't do that anymore."
Largely unloved and under-utilised at the Saints, you believe the 27-year old when he says he'll do anything to win games for his new team.
"I never knew where I stood down there," Ekenasio said of his time in Wellington.
"I might start for the first five games and then only get two minutes in the rest. To me, it doesn't matter whether I'm getting two minutes or 20 minutes, those two minutes are always the best I can give.
"It was hard but it strengthened my resolve and coming up here is a definite step forward in my career. To know that the Hawks wanted me is humbling and it's nice to get a little bit of recognition for the hard work that I did down there, even if my own team didn't notice it."
Hawks coach Shawn Dennis will tell you that it's not talent that wins NBLs but the desire to do the "one-percenters." To take a charge, dive on a loose ball or to make the extra pass that sets up an open teammate.
It's not glamorous work but it's Ekenasio's speciality, along with guarding much bigger men.
"I don't see height as an issue," the 1.93m tall Ekenasio said.
"I've played the five and the four down in Wellington and I've marked people like Kareem [Hawks centre Kareem Johnson]. Regardless of whether my back was killing me or how I felt after the game I always kept trying to hold them off."
One-and-one after Saturday's win over the Manawatu Jets, the Hawks meet a Taranaki team with one win from their three matches.
Hawks: Paul Henare, Paora Winitana, Damien Ekenasio, Kevin Smith, Kareem Johnson, Aidan Daly, Callum Baynes, Thomas Bartlett.
Taranaki: Link Abrams, Ben Jeffrey, Aaron Nowell, Josh Paurini, Damon Rampton, Tony Rampton, Keith Salscheider, Alex Wastney.