Magic will take the victory

Even illness didn't keep Tanya Lund from playing an important role in Waikato Bay of Plenty's win over Rebels last night.

She took the court after half time with the scores locked 19-19 in their final round robin match of the 2007 National Bank Cup.

Magic eventually emerged with a hard fought 45-41 win, adding three points to their round robin tally and securing a spot in the semifinals.

Magic faced a fit and fired up Rebels at home in Dunedin and with nothing to lose against the defending champions.

The visitors showed glimpses of the sublime form they are capable of but seemed to have a case of the speed wobbles, making things unnecessarily tough on themselves.

It wasn't quite the step up Magic had wanted following last week's win over Force after two straight losses but they'll take the win.

The losses had some questioning Magic's ability to pull off a third title but Lund, who is recovering from a virus, has never doubted her team can do just that.

"We just need to be smarter really.

"As a team we have had a look at how we have approached certain things this year and it's really changed our way of thinking."

As Lund points out, Magic also lost a couple of games last season but still ran away with the competition and some might say they are peaking at just the right time.

"Magic can and is certainly getting a whole lot better than what has been seen in the games we lost," Lund said.

She concedes she's had things to work on herself this season but reckons both she and Magic have stepped up another notch in recent weeks and gained in confidence.

The 24-year-old Australian-born shooter, now living at Mt Maunganui, is in her second season with Magic and aims in any game to draw defenders away from goal shoot Irene van Dyk and keep the opponents guessing.

It's a high pressure role but Lund tries not to let that get into her thinking.

"When the defenders double team Irene, all I'm thinking is that I'm free ... my main job is to create that indecision in the defenders' minds."

Lund offers speed and creativity and the ability to put up the long shot and is a "huge" part of Magic's game, according to coach Noeline Taurua.

She remembers Lund "blowing it away" in last year's semis and final and was happy with her performance last night which saw her getting stuck in straight away despite spending the first half on the bench.

"She definitely has it in her," Taurua said.

"She's a work in progress, we are working towards consistency."