Basketball: Harbour's taunt spur for Rebels

By PETER JESSUP

The Auckland National Basketball League team have been struggling for focus and commitment in a season bedevilled with injury, but North Harbour captain Brendon Cathie-Pongia has given it to them in spades by predicting they are finished.

An Auckland side backed to the wall meet league leaders North Harbour at Unitec Stadium tomorrow night and again must win to stay in playoff contention.

Auckland coach Tab Baldwin describes the match-up as "the walking wounded against the No 1."

Auckland are struggling with long-term injuries. Daryl Cartwright is playing with a wrist strapped after a break and centre Matt Barnett is in pain with an ankle bone chip.

The latest blow was to Prem Krishna, who twisted a knee in the midweek game against the University of West Virginia, with doctors waiting for the swelling to subside before they will know whether he needs physiotherapy, a break or surgery.

That shunts Avondale College seventh-former Lindsay Tait into the limelight. The 18-year-old is rated a player of the future by Baldwin, with his future arriving full-speed on Saturday.

"He's it in terms of point-guard," Baldwin said.

Tait ran briefly against Otago last week, returning a creditable performance, but he was called off quickly when the Nuggets applied pressure.

"I've got confidence the kid will go out and play well and play hard," the coach said.

He will need to. Harbour are on form with seven wins on the trot, and that probably fired Cathie-Pongia's call that they would enjoy dumping Auckland out of the league.

The Rebels, however, enlarged the quote on a photocopier and stuck it to their dressing-room wall.

"We needed that. It was ideal for us," Baldwin said.

His Harbour opposite, Tracey Carpenter, did not need it and admitted having a few words to get Cathie-Pongia to consider his comments in future.

"He's having his best season ever. He's worked hard and he's stronger, he's shooting better, he's playing with confidence and maybe those comments were a reflection of that," he said.

The Kings have made the playoffs every year Cathie-Pongia has been with them but have not gone past the semifinals. They have home court advantage for the August 11 and 12 finals and are looking to push that home.

Shooting star Kirk Penney will be a big loss. He leaves this weekend to return to his University of Wisconsin team for a tour of Italy.

He averaged 25 points a game for the Kings last season, and while his scoring statistics have dropped, he has improved his defence and now plays a more complete game, which the Kings will miss terribly.

In the other games, Waikato should cement second spot in the league when they face Canterbury in Hamilton tomorrow, while Nelson again rely on second-stringers to step up when they go to Wellington as they have a raft of players away with the Tall Blacks.