Basketball: Wellington Saints move to 16-0 in NBL

Saints player Corey Webster. Photo / Photosport

The Wellington Saints have overcome the toughest obstacle in their way of becoming the first team to ever record a perfect NBL regular season.

The Saints have beaten the Supercity Rangers 106-95 to move to 16-0, with two games left before the playoffs. Those clashes are against the 4-11 Nelson Giants and 3-11 Bay Hawks, both inferior opponents to the now 8-6 Rangers, who couldn't keep pace with the rampant Saints.

Like many teams against the sometimes slow-starting Saints, the Rangers took a quarter-time lead, but were played off the court in the second quarter.

The Saints put up 35 second quarter points to take a 16-point halftime lead, and they were never in doubt of clinching their 16th victory, despite a bizarre stoppage when the hoop collapsed in the third quarter.

Corey Webster led the Saints, hitting six threes on his way to 26 points and eight rebounds, while Tai Wesley added 25 points and nine rebounds.

Their opponent in the semifinal will be found in the final two weeks of the season, with the race to finish second heating up.

The Southland Sharks have lost three straight games to drop to 9-6, just ahead of the 8-6 Rangers who have also play the Giants and Hawks as part of their season-ending slate. The Rangers' third and final game is against the Canterbury Rams, who sit in fourth at 8-7 but could also reach the 10 win threshold thanks to a soft late-season schedule.