Minor premiers Portland Blazers brought their A-game to Kensington Stadium when they faced City Hawks in the weekend's do-or-die Super Six basketball competition semifinal.
Portland headed into the semis on the back of a loss to Kaikohe Cougars last weekend, which they used to their advantage during Saturday's game against the
Hawks. Their motivation paid off when they defeated fourth-placed City, 82-68.
The 14-point margin did not do the game justice, however, City guard Travis McIlroy said.
"It was really close the whole way through and it just came down to a couple of baskets right at the end. They were still feeling last week's loss and Portland know we are a good team on our day. They turned up to play," he said.
Portland led by one point after the first quarter, and extended that to three at halftime.
The Hawks stuck with Portland throughout the third quarter - with good positioning and outstanding defence by 205cm centre Tre Fong.
However, Portland lifted their performance up a notch during the final stanza, with accurate shooting by another seasoned performer, Walter Smith, and blew out the margin. Smith was the top points scorer for Portland, shooting 31.
Friday's grand final is against Raumanga Royals.
Having also lost only three games, Raumanga finished the round-robin competition first equal alongside Portland, but Portland went on to win the minor premiership on countback.
The Royals also secured a berth in the final, defeating Kaikohe 98-74. Caleb Henare top-scored with 24 points but rolled his ankle in the third quarter.
The final will tip off at Kensington Stadium at 7.30pm.
