Suns rising to the occasion

It's only taken all season, but the Northland Suns will finally get to play on their home turf at Kensington Stadium tomorrow, up against the Auckland Rivets.
"We have wanted this to happen all year. It is a 'friendly' game, but it's a lot more than that for the Suns. We want to give back to all our supporters here in Northland to thank them, as well as showing them what we are capable of," Suns guard Travis McIlroy said.
Between former Auckland Stars player McIlroy, Te Tai Tokerau Basketball coach Mata Cameron and an array of enthusiastic advocates, the Suns were resurrected following a 12-year hiatus.
The team, consisting of mostly youthful and inexperienced players embarked on a huge learning curve. while making their comeback in the North Harbour Basketball Association run inaugural Super City Basketball Competition.
The Suns were promised home games throughout the season in the SCBC, but it never eventuated.
"Teams pulled out of coming up North because of financial reasons and a lack of player availability ... but these teams have been together for years and have loads of players on their roster and funding behind them.
"I believe it was just a cop out - they didn't want to come up North and play us with a home advantage.
"So every week, we travelled to the North Shore with everyone available unless they had a genuine reason for missing the game ... it was frustrating teams didn't make the effort to come to Whangarei," McIlroy said.
Although they were landed with the wooden spoon when the SCBC concluded three weeks ago, the Suns gradually gained more experience throughout the season. They started to close the gap between them and their competition and they even picked up two victories towards the end of their first campaign.
While they lost both of their games to the Auckland Rivets in the SCBC, the 1.9m tall guard said the team they had gathered for tomorrow's game was more than capable of beating the visitors, playing in front of a home crowd.
A full squad has been preparing for the game this week, with Aaron Saddler and Tongan representative Naiasi Malua, who played in the SCBC side Ngatiwai Soldiers, putting their hands up to play for the Suns in tomorrow's showcase.
Also making his debut for the Suns is 16-year-old Louis Davis, a New Zealand under-17 representative who has trained with the Suns all year, while Corey Poa, a former Auckland Stars teammate of McIlroy's, will be back in the captaincy role.
The Auckland Rivets, coached by former Portland Trail Blazers NBA player Kenny Stone, are a tough unit with the likes of National Basketball League players Simon Mesritz and Mike Townsend, but they are not impossible to overcome.
Next year, the Suns will compete in the Conference Basketball League - the national division two competition.
This year, CBL teams played a one week tournament in place of the traditional format of home and away games over a two-month season. However, 2011 will see the return of the traditional format.
The Northland Suns tip off against the Auckland Rivets at 4.30pm tomorrow , at Kensington Stadium.
There is a $5 entry fee for adults, children under-14 are free.