Hawks swingman Dion Prewster breezes past Jets players Brandon Lucas (left) and US import Kuran Iverson in Napier tonight. Photo/Photosport
Hawks swingman Dion Prewster breezes past Jets players Brandon Lucas (left) and US import Kuran Iverson in Napier tonight. Photo/Photosport
Birds never fly faster than jets unless, of course, it boils down to a mismatch on the octane-fuelled basketball court in Hawke's Bay.
With the final four berth in the bag on Friday night, coach Zico Coronel let the Taylor Corporation Hawks out of the mews for some fun and games in Napier tonight.
Spread their wings they did as the Hawke's Bay franchise team thumped Go Media Manawatu Jets 103-70 win in week 13 of the Sal's Pizza National Basketball League at the Pettigrew-Green Arena, Taradale.
SIT Zerofees Southland Sharks had helped ease the stress when they beat fifth-placed Wheeler Motor Canterbury Rams 88-79 on Friday night.
With a 30-12 first quarter and 54-24 (24-12) lead at halftime, the fizz had gone out of the visitors' challenge and some kind of mercy rule must have been on the minds of some fans.
For Coronel it must feel like a double-edged sword because an opposition of the ilk of the Jets had upset the Sharks 94-91 the previous Sunday and lost 106-103 to the Rams in Christchurch two Fridays ago.
So were the Ben Valentine-captained Jets having a bad night or were the Hawks displaying what they are capable of come playoff time early next month?
A humane option would have been for Coronel not to roll out his big birds - centre Angus Brandt, US import power forward Jamie Skeen, swingmen Ethan Rusbatch and Dion Prewster as well as captain/point guard Jarrod Kenny - and instead go to his bench as much as he could.
To his credit, he did, albeit in the second half with the Jets finding parity in the third quarter to narrow the gulf to 74-49 (20-19) before the shoot-and-giggle final spell of 29-27 to give the fans something to cheer about.
It's more about rotation than rest for the Hawks now with bench boys accumulating minutes but ensuring the starting five and No 6 Everard Bartlett don't lose their mojo.
And what of motivation?
"I don't think motivation is a thing because we want to win every game so we're putting ourselves in a good situation to make the Final Four and to finish the season off with more wins is a bonus," said Rusbatch, before another double header next week against the Rams at Cowles Stadium on Friday and the Augusta Taranaki Mountainairs the following day in 7pm tip offs to finish round-robin play.
The Hawks newbie, who made the NZ Select side to tour China, said taking the Jets lightly wasn't an option after their recent form.
"It would have been disrespect to take them lightly so we executed our game plan with the time we had to hold their main guys to limited points in the first half although they got a little bit in the second," he said.
Hawks centre Angus Brandt brushes past Jets captain Ben Valentine and US import Kuran Iverson. Photo/Photosport
Jets Daishon Knight claimed a game-high 27 points and Kuran Iverson 22 but the US imports weren't under any illusions that their currency tonight was caught up in an inflationary economy of reckless three-point attempts (3 from 24) rather than working their way into the lanes of contention.
"I think some of us were beginning to break down a little bit - me and Daishon - so a couple of our young guys will get there eventually to make a few more shots for us," said Iverson.
"We've just come out here to have a good time, you know. It's not all about the points or winning right now because we're trying to put a team together on the court and have fun with each other," he said, of Manawatu who have returned to the NBL after a hiatus.
Iverson said if the Jets want him back he would love to return to help the collective improve every game.
He agreed they were brittle in defence because they were small but in offense he and Knight were playing their part but also mindful of distributing the ball to the others.
He wished the Hawks all the best in the playoffs.
The Hawks' SWAT team weren't shy to pull the trigger tonight, amassing 16 bullseyes from downtown but, as they did on in Thursday's win over 2 Cheap Cars Supercity Rangers here, the players rationed the points.
Prewster scored 17 points and collected nine rebounds, Mitchell Newton added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the only double-double of the game while veteran Bartlett compiled a staccato of four hits from the car park for 12 points to show he'll be itching to go in the Final Four. Kenny added 11 points and eight assists without breaking into a sweat.
More importantly, the likes of Nick Fee (9 points), Ravi Mani, Dominic McGovan (9) and Kaleb Edwards got on the court.
The 10-6 Hawks have qualified in the Final Four with defending champions Cigna Wellington Saints, the Sharks and Mike Pero Nelson Giants.
The Jets will host the Rangers (both 3-14) in the battle for the wooden spoon.
Hawks bench player Ravi Mani made the most of his court time with four points and two rebounds from just under 10 minutes against the Jets tonight. Photo/Photosport
