Basketball: Nelson out to add Saints to winning streak

1.00pm

The NBS Nelson Giants will be out to continue their unbeaten start to the national basketball league (NBL) when they play the champion Wellington Saints in the Capital tonight.

The Giants have won their opening three NBL games and are looking to take sole control of top spot on the table from the other unbeaten team, Manawatu Jets.

Giants coach Nenad Vucinic was not underrating the task facing his young club, though.

"We are playing the defending champions on their home court so it will be a more difficult game than Canterbury (which Nelson won 94-85). They shoot better and they are more structured," he said.

Saints coach Mike McHugh has added a tough edge to the formerly flaky Wellington sides. The league's leading scorer, Brendon Polyblank, is in better shape and form than ever, and shooting guard Troy McLean has had a stint in Australia to learn the value of defence and shot selection.

Terrence Lewis, George Le'afa and rugged Australian forward Derek Moore give Saints a tough starting five.

"Both teams have come together pretty well," Vucinic said. "When we met them in the pre-season, it looked like two third division teams playing after a night on the piss, but there's been some progress since then."

Nelson has improved further and faster than expected, with youngsters Mika Vukona, Mark Jones, Tu Umaga Marshall, Ollie Hill, Lance Baker and Jeremiah Trueman making contributions to the unbeaten record. Those early-season nerves are ebbing, too.

With two games on the road and the first home encounter behind them, Vucinic said the Giants were ready to relax and begin to play ball.

"There was obviously a problem with nerves (against Canterbury) on Sunday. Things went well for us in the first quarter and that disguised some of the tension but it came back and affected us when we had to fight later in the game."

With just two days to train, the Giants have tried to concentrate on plugging Sunday's leaks, boxing out offensive rebounders, doing some one-on-one defensive work and stressing crisp execution on offence.

Captain Ed Book will not play in Wellington, throwing pressure on Nelson's forwards to match up with Polyblank, Moore and Australian Olympian Ben Knight, who may dress for tonight's game.

"They don't have a lot more size than us but size shouldn't have been a factor against Canterbury, either, if we had defended and boxed out better.

"We know we can't rely on shooting 57 per cent from the three-point line to win all our games. We have to get the inside game working well, too."

Giants: Phill Jones (captain), Darnell McCulloch, Ollie Hill, Tu Umaga Marshall, Mika Vukona, Lance Toma, Lance Baker, Ford Guyatt, Jeremiah Trueman.

- NZPA