Slam dunk: Unity quest as Stars go south for two matches

By PETER JESSUP

Auckland coach Kenny Stone is hoping the Stars will develop some unity on their first road trip of the season, a rematch with the Canterbury Rams in Christchurch tomorrow night and the Nuggets in Dunedin on Saturday.

He was disappointed with the one-point loss to the Rams last Saturday in Auckland and the manner of it, believing the officials should have called two Rams players for fouls on Daniel Barritt as he drove to the hoop looking for a winner in the final seconds.

"One blew his whistle and claimed it was for the end of the game."

They pulled out of making a decision that would have decided the game, which finished 77-76 to the visitors, Stone said.

"But we never should have put ourselves in that position."

The Stars again started slowly and came out slowly after the break, running the Rams down at the end.

Stone wants a fast start tomorrow and more competition for the rebounds.

"Our defence is not bad but we're giving up the competition for the second and third opportunities," he said. There are no injuries and he does not envisage making many personnel changes for the two away games.

"We're not panicking. When we play well, we play very well, as in the fourth quarter."

The Stars enjoyed a good away record in 2003 and Stone is hoping to build combinations during the time on the road.

The Hawkes Bay Hawks host Wellington Saints tonight, Waikato Titans meet the Manawatu Jets in Te Awamutu tomorrow night, North Harbour Heat go to Dunedin on Saturday and the Titans play the Mountain Airs in Taranaki.

Opals too strong

The Tall Ferns were outsized by Australia's Opals in the first Olympic warm-up game between the two, going down 49-68 to a team missing a host of first-choice players still overseas.

Coach Tom Maher is still learning the names of his squad after taking over from Carrie Graf last week, Graf finally revealing that she dropped the Ferns and the Canberra Capitals for a contract to shift up to head coach of the Phoenix Mercury, where she was assistant.

"They [Australia] dwarfed us. They're good too, they're not just big. We struggled to get the ball past the centre line," Maher said of the Opals.

Conditioning is a problem but a trainer had been brought in to deal with that in the five month lead-up.

He was impressed with the efforts of Megan Compain and Donna Loffhagen and 18-year-old Adrianne Gilbert who he regarded as a point guard of the future.

Compain, who leaves tomorrow to play in Wales, top-scored with 11 points. Aneka Kerr contributed nine.

Kiwi for Athens

Referee Dallas Pickering reckons he doesn't normally get nervous before games but admits his opener at the Athens Olympics might have the butterflies fluttering. Pickering will be the only Kiwi among 30 officials at the tournament, his nomination by Basketball New Zealand and FIBA Oceania accepted by the sport's governing body.

The 32-year-old marketing manager for Cambridge Clothing will learn further details of what's required this week.

Pickering has been a referee for 11 seasons in the domestic NBL and had his first year in the Australian league this season with the Breakers.

He has whistled at international level for five years, officiating in the Australia-Canada and USA-Mexico matches at the 2001 Goodwill Games and most recently taking the Tall Ferns-Opals games in last year's Olympic qualifying series.

Eyes on Asia

Australian NBL league commissioner Rick Burton is pushing an expansion into Asia and sees the Breakers as a key component of the game's wide base in the region.

"I expect us to play a game in every Australian state, the two territories, New Zealand and to actually get offshore and get into Singapore next season," Burton said.

Good form in Spain

Tall Black Kirk Penney is in good form in the Spanish league, helping Auna Gran Canaria to an 84-80 win over Etosa Alicante with 17 points (5/11 FG, 3/7 3pt, 4/6 FT) and four rebounds in 28m 24s. The team improved to 15-14 for the season.

Point guard Mark Dickel was unable to spark his Fenerbache side to victory in the Turkish Basketball League, Dickel playing the whole game for seven points (2/8 FG, 1/5 3pt, 2/2 FT), seven assists, two steals and a rebound, Fenerbache going down 79-75 to Darussafaka and now 9-14 for the season.

Tall Fern Julie Ofsoski became the highest scorer in competition history when her Knox Raiders defeated Kilsyth Cobras 85-59 in the South East Australia Basketball League. Knox had earlier accounted for Dandenong 63-52 with Ofsoski accumulating 21 points (6/19 FG, 9/9 FT).