Maunu dark horse in finals

City Hawks need their wits about them when they face competition dark horse Maunu in Friday's Super Basketball League final.

On paper, City are the favourites to take out the title - beating Maunu twice in the regular season and winning eight of their 10 round robin games, as opposed to Maunu Lights' 4-6 win-loss record.

But the Lights finished fourth on the table and then provided the upset of last weekend's semifinals by toppling the depleted minor premiers' Whangaruru, 72-52.

The semifinal win was a coup for Maunu and disappointing for competition newcomers Whangaruru who only lost one game this season.

Maunu have a surprise element about their game, which will keep City guessing during Friday night's final, Hawks skipper Travis McIlroy said.

"The whole competition has acknowledged Maunu as the dark horse. They started well, winning a few in a row and then went a bit flat before coming back," McIlroy said.

While they may not have notched up as many wins as their Friday opposition, they came close to victory on many occasions, and have dangerous players who can fire at any stage of a game.

Last weekend's top scorer Jason Friedrich is a "real athlete" who, standing at 2m, is hard to guard, while Ethan Penney dominates the court offensively and defensively and small forward Jason Edwards is a natural leader who brings the team together.

"Then there's their skipper Casey Namana who can pick a team apart offensively ... we will look at the sorts of things their players can do at training this week," McIlroy said.

For the second-placed City, winning the final will be the icing on the cake following an impressive season. However, the team will approach Friday's game like any other.

"No one pictured us to be there at the start of the season. There are some tight bonds in our team and a lot of different dynamics with older experienced players mixed in with youngsters. It is the same for Maunu. We've had a 15-man squad all year and a full bench, people believe in the club. We're just stoked to be in the final," McIlroy said.

While surprise is Maunu's forte, size and speed are the Hawks' strengths, Edwards said.

"They have the likes of Travis, Clay Rouse who are big guys and also quick guys like Kane Rudolph. They have a big roster compared to ours. We have had a maximum of seven or eight players all season. We have struggled for numbers," he said.

The team would focus on defence on game day, and on trying to stop the league's top point scorer McIlroy, who averaged 37.8 points per game this season. The 50-point scoring spree he racked up three weeks ago is unbeaten.

Maunu have missed Josh Martinac, who is on a sports exchange in Costa Rica this season, as well as Hayden Hill, who is only available to play for the side occasionally but the Lights will have a full-strength side on Friday for what should be an even contest, Edwards said.

The Super Basketball League final starts at 6.30pm at Kensington Stadium, on Friday.