Basketball: Hawks, Giants into NBL semifinals

Hawke's Bay centre Galen Young. Photo / Darren Taumata

A stirring third-quarter revival ensured Hawke's Bay stayed alive in the National Basketball League playoffs to see them past a gallant Southland Sharks side 89-75 in Napier last night.

The win means the Hawks will now face the Waikato Pistons in the semifinals on Friday night while the Nelson Giants, who put two regular season losses against the Manawatu Jets behind them to win their quarterfinal 89-76 in Nelson, will take on defending champions Wellington.

The Hawks, who had finished third on the league ladder, were in danger of exiting the playoffs at the first hurdle after the Sharks took a 40-34 lead into the break, but then produced a points-scoring onslaught in the 10 minutes after the resumption to blow the Southlanders away.

The Hawks scored 35 points, more than they had managed in the entire first half, to take a 10-point lead into the final quarter.

Paora Winitana, who scored 12 points in the decisive third quarter, finished with 25 for the match with American forward Josh Pace playing his part with 19 points and 11 rebounds, including nine offensive boards, while centre Galen Young also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Former Rogers State University power forward Sylvester Spicer led the way for the Sharks with 22 points and 14 rebounds.

In Nelson, the Giants kept Jets point guard Chris Hagan quiet which went a long way to ensuring their progression in the playoffs. When the sides met last month, the American almost single-handedly took Nelson apart grabbing 32 points, nine assists, for steals and three rebounds in a 99-78 win, but last night he could manage just seven points as the Giants did a job on the small man.

The home side's big three all came to play, with imports Daryl Dora and Rod Grizzard and Tall Black Phill Jones all topping 20 points. Centre Dora complemented his 26 points with 13 rebounds while Grizzard (22) and Jones (23) each sank their eight free throw attempts.

Darryl Hudson, restored to the Jets' lineup after serving a suspension, could not repeat his 39 points against the Giants in round five and was restricted to 16 from the floor, while Jeremiah Trueman shot 73 percent from the field for 23 points and Nick Horvath pulled down 10 rebounds to go with his 13 points.

- NZPA