Slam dunk: Ryan misses bridge battle

By PETER JESSUP

North Harbour Heat forward Dan Ryan will not be part of the Auckland-Harbour Battle of the Bridge at the North Shore Events Centre on Saturday night after putting his arm through a window.

Ryan has had fingers stitched and that, and a back injury that restricted his time against the Waikato Titans last weekend, will keep him out.

However, he is the only withdrawal from what promises to be a far closer game than the 82-65 result to the Auckland Stars first time up.

Harbour had no imports then but now Aussie Axel Dench and American Purnell Perry are starting to get into sync with the locals - and Heat coach Colin Driscoll is sure of a better performance.

"We're still finding our understanding with each other but there has been a dramatic improvement this week," he said.

Guard Judd Flavell and Dench had a good combination, and timing and Dench and Perry were building that.

"Auckland will be tougher and so will we," he said.

The Heat are two-from-eight.

"This is really it for us - it's play to win and make the finals or it's look for some other goal for the season.

"Personally I don't want to look for any other goals and I know the players don't either."

Auckland's Aaron Olson has recovered from a leg injury and will play. The Stars are wary.

"It was close all the way through last time and we got away at the end," said Kenny Stone. "There will be a lot on the line, pride comes into it."

Hawkes Bay Hawks host Manawatu Jets tonight and the Jets then go to Nelson on Saturday, Otago Nuggets host Waikato on Friday, Waikato play Canterbury Rams on their way back north again on Sunday and Wellington Saints host Taranaki Mountain Airs in the televised game.

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The Breakers' 2.1m American Frank Barr arrives on Monday and will be in New Plymouth by Tuesday for training, then back to Auckland for the Airs' double-header with the Stars and Heat next weekend.

He has eight games in the domestic league as he trials for a job in the Aussie NBL.

Barr, 26, from Philadelphia and Lafayette College, comes to the club after stints in Saudi Arabia and Syria with good raps from his coaches.

With a 2.1m wingspan, the power forward has a reputation for shot-blocking.

The Breakers are looking to contract 10 players and sign four more to development deals. They have six, with coach Frank Arsego having also spoken to point guard Lindsay Tait with a view to keeping him on.

Arsego is back from his month's holiday in Australia this weekend and will be taking a big interest in the league.

The Breakers have put Aussie Ben Melmeth, Paora Winitana, Casey Frank, Iona Enosa and development players Tait, Mike Homik, David Hopoi, Mika Vukona and Lance Baker on the transfer list.

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American Erin Buescher, 24, has given up the pay of the WNBA for the lifestyle in New Zealand and is one the few players to compete here after experience in that league.

She was at the University of California Santa Barbara and was three times Big West Player of the Year and an NAIA First Team All-American.

Drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in 2001 and traded to the Charlotte Sting the following year, Buescher played 75 games over three seasons.

"I had had a good experience with my team and coaches. It was a lot of fun, but I wanted to do something different with my life.

"There were women around me who were 35 and had played for 10 or 12 years but I always knew I didn't want to play in the WNBA all my life. Three years gave me a good chance to see what it was like and then move on."

She scored 11 in her first game, a 73-52 win over an Otago side including Tall Fern Donna Loffhagen who shot 10. In her second outing of the tournament that opened the women's season she scored 29 as Harbour beat Nelson 66-48.

Harbour's starting coach, Tracey Carpenter, had to return to the US because of illness in the family and Pero Cameron's mother Mata has taken over. She has associations with many in the squad through age-group competition.

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The Wellington Saints import Ben Knight has been quickly snapped up by the Sydney Kings after being put on the transfer roster by Wollongong.

Knight is also named as one of a squad of 26 prospective Boomers who will take part in the first pre-Olympic camp which is to be held at the Australian Institute of Sport for a week from May 10.

Hawkes Bay import Gary Boodnikoff is switching from Victoria to Cairns.

There were initially 119 free agents on the list. Kiwi NBL players put up include:

Tall Black Miles Pearce (Hunter) and Adrian Majstrovich (Hawks) and Aussie imports Axel Dench (Harbour), David Cooper (Jets), Michael Kingma (Otago).

Boomers squad: David Andersen, 23, Sienna, Italy; Chris Anstey, 29, Kazan, Russia; Stephen Black, 23, Brisbane Bullets; Andrew Bogut, 19, University of Utah; CJ Bruton, 29, Sydney Kings; Matthew Campbell,27, Wollongong Hawks; Ben Castle, 28, Brisbane Bullets; Martin Cattalini, 30, Adelaide 36ers; Simon Dwight, 27, West Sydney Razorbacks; James Harvey, 25, Perth Wildcats; Shane Heal, 33, Kasani, Greece; Daniel Kickert, 20, St Marys University USA; Ben Knight, 27, Wollongong Hawks/Sydney Kings; Sam Mackinnon, 27, West Sydney Razorbacks; Brett Maher, 31, Adelaide 36ers; Steven Markovic, 19, West Sydney Razorbacks; Matthew Nielsen, 26, Sydney Kings; John Rillie, 32, West Sydney Razorbacks; Paul Rogers, 30, Girona, Spain; Tony Ronaldson, 32, Perth Wildcats; Damien Ryan, 24, Avelliono, Italy; Glen Saville, 28, Wollongong Hawks; Luke Schenscher, 22, Georgia Tech, USA; Jason Smith, 29, Sydney Kings; David Stiff, 32, Sydney Kings; Brett Wheeler, 32, Sydney Kings.

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Mark Dickel's Fenerbache team lost 80-83 to Turke Telekom but lead their finals series 2-1. Dickel scored nine points and had four rebounds and four assists.

Kirk Penney's Aura Gran Canaria finished in seventh place, 17-17, and made a quarter-final against FC Barcelona.