Slam dunk: All dressed up but nowhere to go as season climax looms

By PETER JESSUP

Considerable doubt surrounds the venues for basketball's national league semifinals and final.

The competition plays out its last round this weekend with home court advantage yet to be decided for the semis on June 19 and 20 and the championship decider on June 29.

But some of the teams involved have not booked venues in expectation of hosting play-off games, and some earlier arrangements that were pencilled in have been displaced by other events that have paid upfront.

Disney on Ice is at Mystery Creek in Hamilton and a retail show is scheduled at the Wellington Events Centre.

TVNZ will have some sway in venue choices because of broadcasting requirements, with all three games to be shown on TV2.

Basketball New Zealand will also take a hand in deciding the venues if the team winning home advantage cannot provide a suitable court.

The 3000-seat Taupo indoor venue, which is seen as a neutral location, is believed to be under consideration for the final. Wellington is a realistic pick as one finalist, Saints being the form side. You'd have to back the firepower of Hawkes Bay to take them to the other finals spot, beating out Auckland and Nelson.

Hawkes Bay appeared to be coasting after losses on the road, but coach Mike McHugh has employed his version of a team-bonding ploy from his youth.

"When I was playing football and things were going bad the coaches used to put the boys in a room with a chilly bin full of beers and things would get sorted out.

"We sort of did the same thing. After that southern road trip, instead of practising on the Friday, we took all the boys out to a Chinese restaurant."

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The Tall Ferns' most experienced international player, Megan Compain, is unlikely to start the home test series against Poland and Korea and doubt hangs over the participation of Julie Ofsoski and Sally Farmer.

Coach Tom Maher had hoped to finalise his 12-player squad after a camp on the North Shore last weekend but the three, who played at the Sydney Olympics, were sidelined by injuries. Compain has aggravated a calf injury she suffered in the British league final last month.

Ofsoski has a foot muscle strain and Farmer was concussed during a recent WNBL game.

Maher said it was hard to evaluate players if they were carrying injuries and the selectors would feel more comfortable seeing them play some more.

The Ferns play Poland in Nelson on June 15 and in Blenheim the following day. They go to Palmerston North to play Korea on June 18 with a second test in New Plymouth on June 19. The squad is Megan Compain, Rebecca Cotton, Gina Farmer, Sally Farmer, Adrianne Gilbert, Aneka Kerr, Donna Loffhagen, Angela Marino, Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe, Julie Ofsoski, Jody Tini, Tania Tupu, Leanne Walker (captain) and Kim Wielens.

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The Australian Boomers squad is in camp in Gosford on the Central Coast from June 11-14 and will then be cut by coach Brian Goorjian from 17 to 12 who will tour Italy late in the month. Chris Anstey is out of the squad for Athens after the recurrence of an ankle injury, which will require surgery .

The Boomers squad is David Andersen (Montepaschi, Italy), Stephen Black and Ben Castle (Brisbane Bullets), Andrew Bogut (University of Utah), Matt Neilsen, CJ Bruton and Jason Smith (Sydney Kings), Matt Campbell and Glen Saville (Wollongong Hawks), Martin Catallini (Adelaide 36ers), Shane Heal, captain (Kasani, Greece), Luke Kendall (Metro University Denver), Sam Mackinnon (West Sydney Razors), John Rillie (Townsville Crocs), Tony Ronaldson (Perth), Paul Rogers (Girona, Spain), Luke Schenscher (Georgie Tech).

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The Australian NBL is to start a Hall of Fame, 26 years after the NBL began. Nominations are called for categories of coach, player, official and contributor and close on June 30.

Those accepted will be decided by a panel from the NBL and including state representatives. The panel will also dish out legend and lifetime achievement awards, short of Hall of Fame status.