KEY POINTS:
The national water polo championship finals start in Auckland today.
The top four men's teams - Northsport Wizards (North Harbour), Harbour City Hawks (Wellington), Marist Magic (Auckland) and Hutt Heat - will play best-of-three semifinals series followed by a best-of-three finals.
The top two women's teams from the preliminary round robin, Marist and Northsport, earned direct semifinal spots. Four other teams, Maraenui, QEII of Christchurch, Harbour City and the second Marist team, play off for two places.
Games start at Sacred Heart today and continue at West Wave Aquatic Centre and the Millennium Institute, with the finals on Sunday at West Wave.