Events Centre impresses locals

As far as positive vibes go, the preseason game in Rotorua between the Bay Hawks and Auckland Stars was full of them.

Firstly the city's new $26 million Events Centre got a sporting airing with both visiting camps impressed by the sparkling venue yesterday.

"I think the last time I was here was when I trialled for the New Zealand Maori side and that was in the old building [Sportsdrome]," said Hawke's Bay-based Tall Black Paul Henare.

"It's amazing to see all the work they've done here ... hopefully they'll have a NBL side here in the future," he added after the 0800 Easy LPG Hawks beat the Youthtown Auckland Stars 101-94.

Stars' coach Kenny Stone also weighed in, giving the latest stadium in the Bay of Plenty region a thumbs-up.

"It's a beautiful venue ... It was nice to play in a class stadium," he said.

It also proved the potential of Rotorua to host teams as a neutral and central venue.

Yesterday's game was a re-match of the New Zealand NBL finals of 2005 and 2006 and both camps took the opportunity to run out their young and inexperienced players in front of about 200 spectators.

The game was the highlight, and closing act, of the Whakarewarewa Geysers' first two-day basketball camp of the season. About 50 children took part in the coaching.

The Hawks' seven-point winning margin was well-deserved, with Henare and Evard Bartlett - the 2006 Australian NBL slam dunk champion - pulling them away with some sweet three-point shooting late in the game. Earlier Dylan Perfect-Tait had landed some nice shots while Clifton Bush was in the thick of the tough stuff under the boards. "We've had a couple of pre-season games and both teams are short of a few players but it's always good to fine tune," said Henare.

The Hawks' playmaker isn't worried about entering this year's New Zealand competition wearing the defending champion's tag.

"Everyone will be gunning for us," said Henare. "Auckland Stars would have found that the last couple of years ... we prefer it this way - it's going to be a tough year."

The youthful Stars were never too far from yesterday's pace but Stone is after more.

"We've got a lot of youth and they need the game experience - the inexperience was the difference," he said.

Meanwhile, Whakarewarewa Geysers got their 2007 pre-season under way on Saturday evening with a 117-90 loss to Auckland-based Te Wananga O Te Aotearoa.

While the score indicates a good win to the visitors, Geysers' coach Douglas Courtney is happy with the start as they got some youngsters on to the court.

The play of the game came from Tamaki Courtney, who came off a high screen from Andy Donaldson to find himself open. He drove in to the key hole, drew the defender and passed to Gabriel Wills for an easy two points.