The Portland Blazers continued to leave a trail of destruction behind them in round five of the Super Six Basketball Competition, when they defeated their closest rivals Raumanga Royals.
Portland remain unbeaten in the inaugural competition and showed why they are on top of the table when they overcame Raumanga 87-73at Kamo High School, on Saturday.
The game was fast-paced, intense and heated at times, keeping the players and spectators on their toes.
Sean Clunie top scored with an impressive 35 and Walter Smith and skipper Tori Bradshaw each put up 12. Raumanga have lost to Portland both times the teams have clashed in this competition and their rivalry - evident from the get-go - is growing. The teams meet again in round 11, where Raumanga will be out for revenge against the only team to beat them in the competition to date.
City Hawks were boosted with the return of Joel McKenty who added some physical presence and muscle to the forwards, and combined effectively with Tre Fong.
The Hawks were able to outmuscle the Maunu Lights on Saturday and came away with a 93-81 victory.
Travis McIlroy shot a season high of 48, and Joe Clark got a double double (19 points, 11 rebounds) as did McKenty (12 points, 12 rebounds).
Hadyn Hill (22) and Justin Friedrich (14) were in form for Maunu, as was Josh Martinec who shot 18 points and got 12 rebounds.
The Kamo Stars are continuing to improve each week and were competitive against a hardy Kaikohe Cougars side.
Despite a gritty performance, Kaikohe took more chances and landed more shots, which helped them to an early lead.
They maintained their advantage and secured the win, 100-78.
Next week in round six, Raumanga Royals play Maunu Lights on Friday, tipping off at 6.30pm, and the Kamo Stars face Portland Blazers on Saturday at 2.30pm.
The City Hawks play Kaikohe Cougars at 3.30pm.
All games will be held at Kensington Stadium.
