Waikato 69 Hawks 64
Hamilton
Coach Tab Baldwin was lost for words but when he put his feelers out last night he couldn't have found a more appropriate analogy with the mind-numbing inclement weather taking grip of the country.
"It feels like having fingers in a dyke but holes are popping up every where else," Baldwin lamented last night after the HBS Bank Hawks plummeted further into despair with a 69-64 defeat to last-placed First Advice Waikato Pistons in Hamilton.
The Paora Winitana-led Hawks tip off against Taranaki Mountain Airs at 7pm at the Pettigrew-Green Arena in Napier today but to Baldwin "tomorrow" seemed to be an almost unimagineable time to comprehend as he boarded the team bus after the Bartercard National Basketball League match at Hamilton Boys' High School.
With the wintry blast depositing snow along the Napier-Taupo route, the Hawks were going to gauge the road report about 10pm to decide if they would sleep the night at Taupo before travelling further home this morning.
Whether sleeping on what could make the Hawks click tonight in a season to forget will make a difference remains to be seen but what is for sure is that the blokes in the oversized three-quarter shorts are hurting.
"The flow of the game is not even a story.
"It's how badly we shot and the foul troubles - now that's the story," Baldwin summarised.
According to the former Tall Blacks coach it's not for the lack of trying but more a matter of conviction.
"Too many players are trying too hard so the team structure is getting too upset."
He had no doubt the Hawks were putting in the effort but there was a lack of a sense of wanting to "play for each other".
It was almost as if players felt as if they needed to get the job done themselves rather than relying on someone else.
"I know it sounds like a bit of a cop out but consequently they are not demonstrating enough trust in each other and the system."
Nevertheless, Baldwin hastened to add that trust factor wasn't chronic - "it's just not happening when they are on the court".
The defence, he said, was superb as they limited Pistons import Garrius Holloman to 3/18 field goals and 2/7 shots outside the arc.
"No one had good shooting percentages."
He bemoaned the ability of his troops to find traction with the hoop, almost as if they were "garbage men" send in from the bench to clean up the mess.
Compounding that was another game yielding a rash of foul troubles.
Namely point guard Jarrod Kenny, Serb import forward Darko Cohadarevic and guard Dion Prewster although US import slasher Brian Green, who had another sublime double-double of 21 points and 24 rebounds, could be excused for occupying the bench at the death minutes.
"JK [Kenny] had no back up as point guard so we lost our structure at the offensive end," he said, after veteran court general Aidan Daly withdrew this round because of knee problems after a two-year-old injury flared up despite surgery last year to fix it.
It didn't please Baldwin that the Hawks were guilty of making poor shot selections.
"We shot terribly considering we had lots of good shooting [opportunities] but we weren't even close.
"Some of them looked like they were shooting for the first time on the court."
Perth Wildcat guard was making a return from injury so he lacked rhythm but Baldwin was loathe to find excuses for any of his men.
While the defence was solid and the rebounding excellent he bemoaned the fact that the Hawks needed to break the shackles of piece-meal performances as they drifted like nomads from court to court.
"The team keeps finding different ways to make different mistakes every night they play a game. It was the shooters' turn tonight."
Baldwin lauded Greene for again playing his heart out to leave no gas in his tank, after returning from a controversial match suspension for throwing a ball at veteran Wellington Saints forward Dillon Boucher last week out of frustration at the alleged lack of action from referees on fouls.
Waikato's Tai Webster scored 21 points for the hosts, who posted only their second victory, while import Zac Atkinson added 16 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks to the collective's cause.
The Bay franchise heralded the arrival of Baldwin this year and with it his agenda to employ a European style of full-court pressure game but the Hawks have struggled to get out of first gear.
They have just three victories to date this season, losing to lowly Waitakere Rangers as well amid a dearth of big men.