WAIKATO (NZNBL) - New Zealand's rising star of basketball, 198cm jumping jack Thomas Abercrombie, has carried the Waikato Pistons to victory in game one of the NZNBL Grand Final with an amazing 32 point, 10 rebound, 5 block, 3 assist performance.

In an ominous sign for New Zealand's 2010 FIBA World Championship opponents, Abercrombie's offensive outburst, which featured 5/11 three point shooting, was matched by his outstanding defence on former Syracuse star Eric Devendorf. Abercrombie kept the NZNBL's leading scorer to just 13 points on 3/19 shooting.

The Pistons defeated Devendorf's Wellington Saints 80-74 after establishing a 46-35 half time lead behind 25 points from Abercrombie in the first two quarters. But behind New Zealand Tall Blacks point guard Lindsay Tait (16 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds) the Saints came storming back to take the lead with four minutes to play.

Waikato responded with baskets to import Rashad Tucker (7 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists) and Tall Blacks centre Alex Pledger (12 points, 10 rebounds) to set up a grand stand finish.

As was the case in the quarter finals of the 1996 Olympics, Australian veteran Tony Ronaldson hit the big three to seal the game - despite being severely hindered by a leg injury - to break the Saints' hearts and give the Pistons a 1-0 lead, with the series moving to Wellington tomorrow.

Hayden Allen was also good for the Pistons with 17 points, while former New Zealand international reserve Casey Frank added 14 points and 6 rebounds for Wellington.

Other standout performances from the NZNBL playoffs so far include:

• 17 points on 7/9 shooting and 7 rebounds from Tall Black starter Mika Vukona as his Nelson Giants defeated the Southland Sharks 82-67 in an elimination final
• In the same game Giants import Michael Harrison scored 23 points on 10/15 shooting to go with 10 rebounds
• Rick Rickert, likely to be the naturalised New Zealander for the FIBA World Championship, compiled 30 points and 6 rebounds, but his Harbour Heat fell 77-82 to the Hawkes Bay Hawks in the other elimination final
• Import Josh Pace scored 28 points to lead the Hawks to victory, but his 30 points and 10 assists nights later in the semi final were in vain, as the Hawks fell to Wellington 92-98 in overtime
• Import Erron Maxey was the Saints best in the semi final with 24 points on 11/18 shooting
• Hayden Allen was the dominant player in the other semi final, scoring 28 points on 8/17 shooting as his Pistons defeated Wellington 74-62

The NZNBL season wraps up this week, with games two and three, if necessary, on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Stay tuned to www.fiba.basketball as the New Zealand Tall Blacks stars tune up for Turkey.

Paulo Kennedy
FIBA