Laying it up:

Waikato Pistons coach Doug Courtney says his side’s 2013 NBL campaign will prove beneficial in future seasons.

The Advice First Pistons finished their campaign with a 93-83 defeat to the Hawke’s Bay Hawks in Taradale on Saturday night, leaving them with just two wins from 16 National Basketball League matches this year.

They avoided the wooden spoon on points differential, heading off the Super City Rangers, in Waikato’s return to the competition after not entering a team last year.

Despite the lack of victories by a side short on star power and depth of talent compared with most of the league’s franchises, Courtney felt the Pistons must stay in the NBL.

‘‘Absolutely – we’ve got to find the next Puke Lendens and Mike Homiks, those local guys – and there’s a few out there,’’ he said in reference to former Waikato products who had long NBL careers.

‘‘Only a few players get to play in the NBL, so to have a franchise for them to play for has to be good.’’

Courtney used the case of Waikato guard James Comer as being one to greatly benefit from the season.

‘‘I thought James Comer stepped up from being a bench player to get major minutes by putting in the effort.’’

Courtney also had praise for teenage point guard Tai Webster as the Aucklander prepares to head for his freshman season in US college hoops with the University of Nebraska.

‘‘Tai showed huge amounts of skill and ability, and that’s why he’s touted as one of the best young players to emerge in New Zealand.’’

A tardy start – something that plagued the Pistons initially this year but they appeared to have fixed – hurt them against the Hawks, who jumped out to a double-digit lead early in the first quarter.

It wasn’t until the final quarter that the Pistons reduced the deficit to single figures, and Courtney’s troops got to within six before the Hawks fought off the late challenge.

‘‘They did shoot the ball quite well in the first half,’’ Courtney said.

‘‘We played tough in the second half, made a few more shots and got close but just ran out of time.’’

Import centre Zack Atkinson was

Waikato Pistons point guard Tai Webster attacks the hoop during his side’s defeat by the Hawke’s Bay Hawks on Saturday night. Photo: Photosport again a standout for the Pistons, notching his trademark double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Hawks’ import Darko Cohadarevic led all scorers with 23 points and added 10 boards, while Everard Bartlett made five of eight three-point attempts among his 19 points.

Courtney said there was plenty of hope for 2014. ‘‘The second half of the season was much, much better.

‘‘We competed with some really good teams and got close a number of times.

‘‘It was big learning curve for me, finding imports and getting the group to work together. There were the highs and lows, but I’m already really looking forward to next year.’’