Basketball: Auckland stumble but make top four

By MURRAY McKINNON

Auckland faltered at the final hurdle in the regular round of the national basketball league, going down 68-83 away to Palmerston North yesterday.

They were ahead 46-33 at halftime, but the Jets, determined to bow out of the season on a winning note, clawed back to lead 59-54 at the three-quarter.

Glen Newbold dominated the boards for Palmerston North, scoring 17 in the second half.

Despite the loss, Auckland finished in the top four and will face Waikato in a semifinal in Hamilton.

They confirmed their playoff spot by beating the Wellington Saints 87-85 in Wellington on Saturday.

Saints led the first half 54-46 with aggressive rebounding and accurate shooting from their import Chris Webber, who finished with 22.

But the Auckland blockbuster, Australian Ben Pepper, dominated under the post, to give Auckland the edge in the final five minutes.

Nelson booked their home court semifinal playoff this Friday by beating Canterbury 109-95.

The Giants had instant success from their import Wil Coley, secured last week from North Carolina to replace the injured Darnell McCulloch. Coley scored 15 points, with Phill Jones chiming in with 28 and Michael Fitchett 20.

John Whorton led the Canterbury scoring with 31.

The victory secured Nelson second place in the final standings for the season and won them the Burger King Cup.

Waikato ended the regular season with 15 wins after swamping North Harbour 119-79 in Hamilton.

After an even first quarter, the Waikato Titans went out to 50-32 at the break. Jeff Green ran his bench in a scoring spree, Clifton Bush hitting 28, Nat Connell 17 and Pero Cameron 16.

Jeff Niwa was the best for Harbour with 16.

After last week delivering Waikato their only defeat this season, Otago collected the wooden spoon after being beaten 83-87 in their match with Hawkes Bay.