Basketball: Rebels tackle Giants in final

By PETER JESSUP

The Auckland Rebels did what they are famous for in the semifinals of the National Basketball League last night, bench depth and a professional grind wearing down the North Harbour Kings for a 92-81 victory that sets up a familiar final this afternoon against the Nelson Giants.

The Giants were 105-100 winners over a spirited Waikato, with the games like chalk and cheese.

Nelson's victory put them into their third final since 1996, two of those resulting in losses to Auckland.

It was supreme disappointment for the host side at the North Shore Events Centre, the Kings again falling at the last hurdle to leave themselves without a title after 19 years in the league.

Auckland looked hot, on form and fired up.

Their game, the second of the two semis, was played at a frantic pace.

Whereas the Nelson-Waikato game was a scoring extravaganza without too much defence and the lead changing repeatedly, the second was more crash-and-barge, with lots of fouls punctuating some excellent attack from both teams. But Auckland took an early lead and were always too good.

And from the look of last night, defence will win the title today.

"We pride ourselves on our defence and our rebounding, and that's what did it for us," Rebels captain Dillon Boucher said.

The semis were a fillip for Kiwi basketball, the Nelson Giants riding the back of young shooting stars Phill Jones and Tony Rampton to victory over a Waikato team who relied heavily on American imports, while Harbour and Auckland fought it out without key imports.

The Kings' top scorer, Purnell Perry, missed the game with a stomach virus, and Auckland lost centre Matt Barnett, who decided not to run with Kiwi refs in charge.

There was further good news for the Kiwi team to the Sydney Games in the performance of United States-resident Kings guard Mark Dickel, a 110 per cent effort from him to produce the game-high score of 29.

Auckland took a 30-24 lead after the first quarter and never relinquished it in a game that had more pace but lacked the intensity of the first semi.

The Waikato-Nelson game was entertainment-plus, as the teams scored point-for-point, swapping the lead in each quarter.

It came down to a one-point ball game, the Nelson side pushing harder at the end to take a couple of crucial steals that denied the Warriors points.

Waikato coach Jeff Green was upset that it was his veterans who lost possession at the wrong times, but they were also the ones under concerted Nelson attack.

Nelson top-scorer Jones (25) said they had gone in intending to shut down the Waikato vets DarylJohnson, Riki Strother and Tony Brown.

That plan did not work early, but the Warriors tired towards the end of the third quarter and by the middle of the last the Giants had a 10-point gap.

Jones nailed a long shot for three, punched the air as if he had won, and admitted afterwards the celebration came a bit early.

"They were in it to the end - the sign of a good team. But we had confidence in each other."

They will need it today when they face Auckland in the final at the same venue at 3.30 pm.

Nelson 105 (Phill Jones 25, Tony Rampton 24, Damon Johnson 19) Waikato 100 (Daryl Johnson 27, Tony Brown 21, Chris Tupu 19).

Auckland 92 (Bryan Christiansen 27, Pero Cameron 16, Dillon Boucher 16) North Harbour 81 (Mark Dickel 29, Robert Wilson 15, Brendon Cathie-Pongia 10, Brad Riley 10).