Magic and Bombers bounce back
THE Mid City Magic and City Rise Bombers returned to winning ways in the Dunedin premier club competition on Saturday.
After both dropping games last week, the sides claimed wins to retain the gap between the top three and the chasing pack.
The Magic bounced back from its first regular season loss in two years with an 8973 win over the Andy Bay Falcons.
The Magic led the whole game. Its speed in transition was tough for the Falcons to handle, while in the half court it cut well and did a good job of finding the open man.
That, coupled with its range of threats — five of its players scored in doublefigures and all seven scored seven or more — made it hard to cover.
It jumped out to a lead midway through the first quarter and led 2416 at the first break.
That was swallowed up in the second quarter, Falcons guard Hamish Robertson scoring eight quick points to bring it back to 3534.
However, a timeout did the trick for the Magic and it finished stronger, going to halftime up 4434.
The Falcons closed that gap to four in the third, but again the Magic hit back late and took a 6550 lead to the final break, which it maintained through the fourth quarter.
Josh Aitcheson led the way for the Magic with 19 points, while Benoit Hayman had 18.
Robertson topscored for the Falcons with 24.
In the second game the Magic Lions had comfortable lead at the final break, only to be undone by a sloppy fourth quarter against the City Rise Bombers.
Both sides were missing key players, although the Bombers’ star duo of Olly Smith and Steve Robinson made their presence felt as they claimed a 7567 win.
The Lions took a 2116 lead to the first break but the Bombers pegged that back to tie 3939 at halftime.
A strong third quarter from the Lions saw them shoot out to a 6749 lead at the final break, but the Bombers came roaring back.
Smith and Robinson both stepped up late, combining for 22 of the Bombers’ 26 fourthquarter points, while holding the Lions to 10.
Smith finished with 26 points, while Robinson had 22.
Joe McAuley led the Lions with 21.
A The St Kilda Saints beat Varsity by default.
AUCKLAND: It was scrappy, it was ugly, it was tense, but in the end, it was a fifth straight World Cup qualifying win for a Tall Blacks side which continues to impress.
A 6757 World Cup qualifying win over China confirmed what we already knew: barring disaster, this Tall Blacks side is heading to the 2019 World Cup and, if it keeps developing, it might even be able to make some noise when it gets there.
Yesterday’s victory in front of a soldout Auckland crowd meant the Tall Blacks finish top in group A — a notable landmark considering their 11 points already banked will carry over to the second stage of qualifying.
Granted, their opponents have not been worldclass in their recent Asian run, but since their opening defeat by South Korea in November, they have overcome all prospective challengers.
China provided their most difficult test, but though they had some sloppy stretches, the Tall Blacks showed their increasing array of talents, most notably on the defensive end. This particular Tall Blacks iteration has a smorgasbord of defensive talent, and they are working well together in Paul Henare’s scheme.
It helps that China was fairly onedimensional. It lived up to its billing as a team which loves to attack the hoop, but it did not show enough variety, hitting just three shots from beyond the arc.
That tactic worked for it early as China took a 1815 quartertime lead as Spark Arena briefly turned into a home crowd thanks to the passionate Chinese fans, but eventually the Tall Blacks defence wised up to what was on the Chinese menu.
Offensively, the Tall Blacks started sluggishly, but soon found their rhythm, getting out in transition for some easy buckets and starting to domi nate down low.
They started the second quarter on a 130 run and China went scoreless for four and ahalf minutes, as Isaac Fotu got to work in the post. How