Basketball: Cameron has tabs on opposition

Pero Cameron knows what approach Auckland will have to their clash. Picture / Richard Robinson

Pero Cameron has plenty of national basketball titles with Auckland and Waikato but his desire for another has not diminished.

Tomorrow night's clash between the Stars and Titans at the Trusts Stadium may determine the finishing order in the playoff four and the right to host a semifinal.

Auckland coach Kenny Stone sees the game as "a quarter-final, without the knockout aspect".

Momentum belongs with Auckland after they contained North Harbour last week and nullified the Heat's game plan, while the Titans needed a last-second hoop from their import Kantrail Horton to beat Nelson.

Cameron knows Stone and the Auckland approach that was set in motion by Tab Baldwin during the mid-90s when the team enjoyed a run of titles. "They have class all round, Kenny has them well-polished, they're all on the same wavelength and they're going to be very hard to beat," Cameron said.

The competition this year had been harder than ever, with the ability of teams to attract Australian players and still sign two imports having raised the bar. But the locals were better, too. "We haven't had an easy game all year."

He wouldn't rank the other playoff sides, Auckland and Nelson definitely in and Hawkes Bay likely. "They're all tough. The Hawks beat us without A. J. (Breakers forward Majstrovich). They edged us out, we edged Nelson out. There's not a lot between the teams. They've all got good starting fives, they're all good to seven or eight, they're all well-coached."

Cameron said he could see similarities in the approach of those four teams, some of that rubbing off from the Tall Blacks style under Baldwin. "Tim (Titans coach McTamney) has been looking at some of that system, you've got Nenad (Tall Blacks assistant coach Vucinic) at Nelson, that inputs at Hawkes Bay with Paul Henare and Paora Winitana. It's good because players move smoothly on into the Tall Blacks."

The national squad is in camp at the end of the month, Cameron is also keen to get into that and set a foundation for the series against Australia. With Sean Marks having retired from the national squad, they will be looking for new talent. "He always brought a lot of confidence and he'll be sorely missed," Cameron said.

From a national team perspective, tomorrow night's game offers an interesting contest between Tall Blacks hopeful Lindsay Tait and Sydney guard Luke Martin. Stone feels Tait's play has improved this season after he spent time at shooting guard to cover for Aaron Olson while he was away. Glen Joe had done a terrific job for them at point and was making a big contribution from the bench since Olson's return.

Stone predicts a physical game at Trusts Stadium, with Cameron and import Horton providing the Titans with size. Guard Greg Lewis has been one of the stars of the league. "We won't shut him down but we have to work on limiting him," Stone said.

The Auckland coach would much prefer his team play a tough outfit like the Titans than walk into finals against a lower-ranked side. "I'm looking forward to it. We'll know where we're at."

As for the importance of winning to secure a home semi and a second life in playoffs, he's not desperate.

"We showed last year that you don't have to finish on top to win it. It's carrying momentum into it that is important. It would be nice to finish first and given the disruption we've had this year it would be a credit to the guys to do it."

Basketball New Zealand has no worries regarding the hosting of playoff games, with the possible exception of a Titans home final.

The Lions tour has resulted in several basketball venues being booked for corporate hospitality on the days set down for semis and the final but Auckland's Trusts Stadium, the Pettigrew Arena in Napier and the Trafalgar centre in Nelson are not affected.

The Titans can use the Te Awamutu Events Centre for a semi and the venue is not booked on the day set for the final. But it holds around 1200, well down on the more preferred venue, Mystery Creek.