Auckland prove too tall a task for Suns

The Auckland Rivets proved to be too big and too experienced for the Northland Suns as they got under way in round two of the Super City basketball competition.
Auckland, who lead the table, defeated Northland in round one by 30 points, and the Suns were determined to turn their luck around at the Breakers Training Facility on Saturday.
Despite putting up a good fight, with a much improved performance from their first encounter, it was not to be, said Northland's top scorer against the Rivets with 24 points, Travis McIlroy.
"They have a lot of experience in their side, with former NBA player and Tall Black Kenny Stone. He threw a dunk down on us and while it was heartbreaking for us, it was good to see he still has it," McIlroy said.
With Stone standing at six foot nine and none of the starting five under six foot four, the Suns struggled to fend off the Rivets.
Auckland shot 30 from second chance points, getting rebounds, positioning themselves well on court.
The Suns trailed at halftime 58-38 and Auckland extended their lead throughout the final two quarters to eventually win comfortably, 84-60.
"They don't miss much, and we missed too many shots. Our fitness is through the roof - a lot of the teams have mentioned how good it is - but Auckland slowed the game down, which made it harder for us."
While it was not the best performance of the year for the Suns, it was a decent overall team effort.
"We are utilising the bench, rotating seven or eight players, but we need to keep playing a structured game instead of playing jungleball - that's the difference at this level."
Now into the second round, the SCBC is heating up - with all of the teams in the competition growing stronger, McIlroy said. "Every team has current or former National Basketball League players in them - you can play in both the SCBC and the NBL as the seasons don't clash, but there are restrictions. You are only allowed two current NBL players per team."
The Suns have yet to win a game in their debut season in the competition and sit at the foot of the table but the team are still hungry and ready to compete. "Every game is a win for us as this year's all about gaining experience," McIlroy said.
Northland Suns go up against Ngatiwai Soldiers who they came close to beating in round one, on Saturday at the Breakers Training Facility.