IT'S a case of check mate, really, if what Otago Nuggets coach Anthony "Alf" Arlidge says is anything to go by.
The HBS Bank Hawks, Arlidge contends, are the bee's knees and when you are "five and oh" in the Bartercard National Basketball League (NBL) it's hard to argue.
Consequently it goes without saying that Paul Henare, in just his second season, is a "great coach" but Arlidge will tell you that just in case, anyway.
Throw in Paora Winitana's captaincy and nous, the steadiness of American imports Galen Young and Kareem Johnson, and the dexterity of a late-arriving Adelaide 36er Everard Bartlett ... Arlidge could go on but he prefers to rest his case.
So it begs the question: "Why bother coming up here?"
Arlidge: "Every team is beatable."
Check, mate! That's the bottom line.
The Mark Dickel-skippered Nuggets will agree the level of self-belief couldn't be any higher considering the Nelson Giants pushed the Hawks into overtime before stumbling 94-88 last Saturday in Napier.
The 3pm tip-off between the teams at the Pettigrew-Green Arena on Easter Monday should be a humdinger after the Nuggets' 85-74 victory over the Southland Sharks in the South Island derby.
But enough about the Hawks, Arlidge, enlighten us on the Pride of the South.
He champions Otago's drive in having a predominantly home-grown talent base because "we're big on developing young guys".
"It's definitely lots tougher but to be the best in the league you have to suck it up for a couple of years because experience is how kids get their confidence," Arlidge explains.
Dickel, who left the Shark cage of his brother, coach Richard Dickel, this season, and their American imports, Antoine Tisby and Akeem Wright, are the only outsiders.
"Mark's 35 so he's a crafty old bugger. I've known him since he was 5," the coach says of the former Tall Blacks who he coached from high school through to the under-20s.
Fundamentally, Arlidge sought a court-savvy point guard and found in Dickel a playmaker who is averaging 18 points a game.
"He's got a wealth of knowledge and good leadership."
The visitors, though, also rely on centre Tisby and guard Wright who, between the three, muster 73 per cent of Otago's points.
Tisby is also the second best rebounder in the NBL (11.8) compared with the Hawks' Johnson (9.8) who is fifth.
But wait, there's more. Tisby is the king of blockers (2.8) with teammate Wright (1.6) on his heels.
Wright is emerging as one of the best all-rounders in the NBL, averaging 23.8 points in fourth place, with 10 rebounds and 2.4 steals. He is second best for Otago in the assists department (4.6).
The Nuggets still don't have the services of New Zealand Breakers pair of BJ Anthony and ex-Wellington Saint Leon Henry.
With the Breakers' 94-83 victory away on Thursday night to level the three-match series 1-1 against the Townsville Crocodiles in the ANBL semifinals, the Nuggets will have to bide their time to boost their ranks.
Playing the "rebuilding" card after losing his starting five from last season, Arlidge still wanted the Breakers to soldier on to retain their ANBL crown.
"We want them to win because it's great for basketball here," he says, mindful Anthony is also nursing an ankle injury.
Otago move to fifth place on the NBL ladder, behind the Saints and the Manawatu Jets, all on six points. The seventh-placed Giants, who lost 76-69 to Taranaki on Thursday in New Plymouth, have registered their third consecutive victory after succumbing 101-93 on Wednesday to the Auckland Pirates who are behind the Hawks on equal 10 points but have played two more games than the undefeated Hawke's Bay franchise.
Taranaki were playing the Saints last night.
After Monday's clash here, the Hawks will catch a flight down to Dunedin to reload against Otago before Saturday's game against the Sharks, who they beat comfortably in the season opener here.
The back-to-back matches appeal to Arlidge, who feels having more such encounters will ensure more continuity.
For Henare the ugly affair against the Giants last weekend is water under the bridge.
"It wasn't a great effort but it was great how the guys responded to changes in the game for a good win," he says.
"You can't have 100 per cent energy a 100 per cent of the time."
The Hawks engaged in revision, shooting and tightening up their defensive systems during the past week of training.
While Otago remain an unknown quantity because they didn't play in any pre-season tournament matches, Henare had got his hands on a copy of a videotape of the Southerners' game against Harbour Heat earlier in the season.
It is NBL policy for each franchise to hand over match footage from every game, which is then made accessible to other teams for scrutiny.
Henare shrugs his shoulders at the strange ritual, finding comfort in the "everyone's in the same boat" philosophy.
Besides, the former Breakers title-winning skipper believes there are few trade secrets between franchise coaches.
"Coaches have relationships with different coaches so we just make a phone call to another who has just played against a side," he said.
Henare's troops have worked on their defence, bearing in mind the opposition rely on Dickel, Tisby and Wright who average 39 minutes a game with the collective returns of 60 points.