AUS - Razorbacks celebrate while the eight takes shape

SYDNEY (NBL) - Round 17 of the National Basketball League season was a memorable one for the West Sydney Razorbacks (4-25).

Having suffered through a 21 game losing streak this season, and continued an away losing streak that extended back to 2005, the Razorbacks finally disposed of both with a 106-102 win over the Hawks in Wollongong.

Despite star guard James Harvey not being able to finish the game due to injury, West Sydney withstood a charge from the Hawks that eliminated a 24 point third quarter deficit.

While the heroics of Justin Bailey (20 points) and Liam Rush (17 points) on that night were duly celebrated, Round 19 may have been even more special for Razorbacks coach Cal Bruton and his team.

In front of their home fans they embarrassed their fierce cross-town rivals, the Sydney Kings, by 31 points. Bruton’s men led from the tip, racing to a remarkable 28-8 quarter time lead and never taking their foot off the pedal.

"We've been kicked from pillar to post, but their conviction has been there," Bruton said, marveling at the resolve of a group that has lost a remarkable 14 of 25 games by twelve points or less, yet continues to fight out the season.

"They've come to practice every day, they've gone to the physio, they've tried to prepare themselves the best they could and it resulted in that."

"Obviously, playing Sydney gets us up probably more than any team and this game meant a lot to the group in terms of us trying to turn around our season," he said.

This time Harvey was fully fit and in full flight, registering a game-high 29 points, including 5-of-7 from long-range to no doubt impress Kings and Australian Boomers coach Brian Goorjian, and lead his team to their fourth win of the year.

Another player shaping as a national team prospect for this winters FIBA Oceania qualifying series is New Zealand Breakers Aussie centre Ben Pepper. Pepper has been outstanding this season, and has upped his production to 23 points and 11 rebounds per game in his last four contests.

In the Breakers (10-20) match up with Singapore (11-18) in Auckland, a game crucial to New Zealand’s playoff hopes, Pepper dominated at pivotal moments to finish with 22 points and 15 boards. The Breakers next must win assignment came against the South Dragons (14-17) on Thursday, also at home.

Pepper was again a force inside, accumulating 16 and 13, but 38 points on 72% shooting from Shane Heal was more than New Zealand could handle. The four time Olympic and dual FIBA World Championship point guard turned back the clock and left the Breakers home crowd stunned, as South rode their playing-coach to a 106-102 victory that wrapped up 7th position.

The Dragons now face Singapore in Melbourne this weekend. The Slingers currently sit eighth, and wins against the Dragons and the Hawks, in Wollongong on Friday, will see them become the first debut franchise to reach the playoffs since the time when the NBL was a semi-professional league.

The Hawks (10-19) form line is poor, having lost to the Breakers and Perth Wildcats last weekend. A win over the Slingers, however, will give them the season split, and require them to likely win just one more game to reach the playoffs. A loss, on the other hand, will all but eliminate Wollongong from the playoff race.

The Wildcats (22-8) hopes of finishing second and advancing straight to the semi finals is out of their hands, thanks to a masterful performance from Australia’s best big man, Chris Anstey. In a tough match up in Melbourne, Perth sixth man Damien Ryan was unstoppable, shooting 7/8 from three point range on the way to 23 points for the game.

But Anstey, who has struggled somewhat since missing the FIBA World Championships with a knee injury, made a decision that the Tigers (23-8) would not lose this one, scoring 12 of his 25 points in the last quarter. This included two big three pointers and four cool free throws, and was accompanied by an enormous block on Wildcat dual Olympian Paul Rogers.

Anstey made his international debut at the 1998 FIBA World Championships, and has since gone on to have success in the NBA, ULEB Cup and the NBL. Wildcats coach Scott Fisher is in no doubt that experience makes Anstey a tough commodity in the dying stages of games.

"Chris is a former NBA player, you've got to expect big games from a guy like that. And he came up with the goods right when it hurt us the most."

The Tigers now face Adelaide (10-20) on the road, who appear to have run out of steam, and the Sydney Kings back at ‘The Cage’ in Melbourne. Two wins will secure a semi-final berth for the defending champions.

The date at ‘The Cage’ is must win for Sydney (18-12), who could possibly finish outside the top four for the first time in Brian Goorjian’s five year reign. With Townsville (18-13) holding the season split over the Kings and having their two remaining fixtures at home, Sydney can ill-afford to drop another game if it wishes to avoid the initial elimination round.

The Brisbane Bullets (24-5) have locked in first place, while Cairns (15-14) and South, sixth and seventh respectively, will face off in a first round elimination final. All other positions in the eight are up for grabs, with the most interest surrounding who out of Wollongong, Singapore and New Zealand will claim the eighth and final position.

Paul Kennedy
FIBA Official Correspondent in Australia.