NBL Round 3: Bulls lose their first game against Giants

After 3 rounds played we can already see who rules in the NBL and who belongs to weaker ones. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most surprising game was a loss of Bulls (2-1) in Pukekohe on Saturday night. Hosts were defeated by Giants (2-1) 73-56. It was a great evening for swingman Sam Dempster (194-1990) who led his team to a victory scoring 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. American point guard Jarrod West (180-99, college: Louisville) helped adding 12 points and 4 assists. The best for the losing side was forward Isaac Davidson (201-97, college: Sonoma St.) with 15 points. Bulls' coach rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Giants is looking forward to face Rams in Christchurch in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Bulls will play at home against Nuggets and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Very important is a road loss of Hawks (2-2) against Nuggets (2-2) on Saturday night. Visiting Hawks were defeated by Nuggets in Dunedin 94-80. It was an exceptional evening for American swingman Todd Withers (202-1996, college: Queens, NC) who led the winners and scored 30 points and 9 rebounds. Samuel Timmins accounted for 17 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocks. Nuggets' coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. The former international guard Derone Raukawa (181-1994) came up with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for Hawks in the defeat. Nuggets will play against Jets (#9) in Palmerston North in the next round. Hawks will play on the road against Huskies (#1) in Auckland and hope to get back on the winning track.
The game between Top Four teams took place in Southland. host Sharks (2-2) were smashed by Hawks (2-2) 87-68. The best player for the winners was Ethan Rusbatch who scored 30 points. At the other side the best for losing team was Dominique Kelman-Poto who recorded a double-double by scoring 19 points and 13 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Hawks will meet Huskies in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Sharks will play against Airs in New Plymouth and hope to secure a win.

There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 3: Rams won against Jets on the opponent's court 92-82. Winless Airs unfortunately lost to Rams in a home game 75-87. Tuatara managed to beat Saints on the road 106-91.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 25 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists by Chris Johnson of Tuatara.

Sharks - Hawks 68-87

The game between Top Four teams took place in Southland. host Sharks (2-2) were smashed by Hawks (2-2) 87-68. Hawks made 21-of-27 free shots (77.8 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was the former international swingman Ethan Rusbatch (196-92, college: Lincoln Trail) who scored 30 points. The former international forward Jordan Hunt (205-1997, college: S.Oregon) chipped in a double-double by scoring 19 points and 10 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was forward Dominique Kelman-Poto (201-1994, college: Adelphi) who recorded a double-double by scoring 19 points and 13 rebounds and guard Alonzo Burton (193-1993, agency: IceBasket) added 15 points and 5 rebounds respectively. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Hawks will meet Huskies in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Sharks will play against Airs in New Plymouth and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Sharks: D.Kelman-Poto 19+13reb, A.Burton 15+5reb+2ast, K.Mojave 11+7reb+4ast, D.Leusogi-Ape 7+1reb+2ast, R.Gill 4+8reb, B.Inger 4+3reb
Hawks: E.Rusbatch 30+4reb+2ast, J.Hunt 19+10reb+1ast, D.Raukawa 15+3reb+9ast, E.Jack 9+5reb+2ast, H.Harris 8+12reb+4ast, Q.Bailey 4+5reb

Jets - Rams 82-92

Very expected game in Palmerston North where Jets (0-3) were defeated by Rams (3-1) 92-82 on Friday. Rams made 18-of-21 free shots (85.7 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was Australian guard Sunday Dech (195-1994, college: Barry) who scored 27 points and 6 steals. American guard Ryan Taylor (198-95, college: Northwestern) chipped in 27 points. Rams' coach used a ten-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. At the other side the best for losing team was naturalized American power forward Shane Temara (205-1995, college: N.Texas) who recorded 22 points and 8 rebounds and American-Jordanian forward Zane Najdawi (201-1996, college: Citadel) added 16 points and 7 rebounds respectively. Four Jets players scored in double figures. Rams will meet Saints (#10) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Jets will play against Nuggets and hope to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Jets: S.Temara 22+8reb, Z.Najdawi 16+7reb, R.Crawford 16+3reb+3ast, M.Pafe 14+3reb+4ast, S.Klein 5+6reb+1ast, C.Tukaha 5+2reb+2ast
Rams: R.Taylor 27+3reb+1ast, S.Dech 27+4reb+3ast, M.Karena 18+9reb, J.Cook-Green 9+4reb+1ast, T.Britt 5+9reb+7ast, H.Adam 3+3reb

Nuggets - Hawks 94-80

Very important is a road loss of Hawks (2-2) against Nuggets (2-2) on Saturday night. Visiting Hawks were defeated by Nuggets in Dunedin 94-80. Nuggets brought some defensive toughness making 10 blocks. It was an exceptional evening for American swingman Todd Withers (202-1996, college: Queens, NC) who led the winners and scored 30 points and 9 rebounds. The former international power forward Samuel Timmins (211-97, college: Washington) accounted for 17 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocks for the winning side. Nuggets' coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. The former international guard Derone Raukawa (181-1994) came up with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and the former international forward Hyrum Harris (198-1996, college: Umpqua CC) added 11 points and 11 rebounds respectively for Hawks in the defeat. Five Hawks players scored in double figures. Nuggets will play against Jets (#9) in Palmerston North in the next round. Hawks will play on the road against Huskies (#1) in Auckland and hope to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Hawks: D.Raukawa 23+5reb+4ast, E.Jack 15+2reb+2ast, J.Hunt 15+7reb, E.Rusbatch 13+9reb, H.Harris 11+11reb+1ast, D.Albertsen 3
Nuggets: T.Withers 30+9reb+2ast, K.Williams 23+4reb, S.Timmins 17+12reb+4ast, N.McCullough 8+3reb+4ast, T.McCall 7+4reb+5ast, B.Matthew 6+4reb+1ast

Bulls - Giants 56-73

The most surprising game was a loss of Bulls (2-1) in Pukekohe on Saturday night. Hosts were defeated by Giants (2-1) 73-56. It was a great evening for swingman Sam Dempster (194-1990) who led his team to a victory scoring 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. American point guard Jarrod West (180-99, college: Louisville) helped adding 12 points and 4 assists. The best for the losing side was forward Isaac Davidson (201-97, college: Sonoma St.) with 15 points and forward Kane Keil (198-97, college: Antelope Valley) scored 11 points and 6 rebounds. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Bulls' coach rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Giants is looking forward to face Rams in Christchurch in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Bulls will play at home against Nuggets and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Bulls: I.Davidson 15+3reb+2ast, D.Brooke 12+2reb+1ast, A.Rissetto 11+5reb, K.Keil 11+6reb+1ast, J.Bezzant 4+4reb+4ast, T.Jett 3+1reb+1ast
Giants: S.Dempster 17+8reb+4ast, T.Mourning 12+4reb+1ast, J.West 12+4reb+4ast, M.Alexander 11+3reb+3ast, N.Trathen 8+3reb+2ast, R.Bensemann 5

Airs - Rams 75-87

There was a small surprise in New Plymouth where Rams (3-1) defeated Airs (0-0) 87-75 on Sunday. Rams made 19-of-25 free shots (76.0 percent) during the game. They also forced 23 Airs turnovers. Strangely Airs outrebounded Rams 39-25 including a 31-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists. The best player for the winners was the former international guard Joe Cook-Green (185-1997, college: TxWes) who scored 21 points and 6 assists. Australian guard Sunday Dech (195-1994, college: Barry) chipped in a double-double by scoring 10 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists and 7 steals. At the other side the best for losing team was naturalized American forward Marcel Jones (203-1985, college: Oregon St.) who recorded a double-double by scoring 14 points and 13 rebounds and the former international power forward Tai Wynyard (208-98, college: Kentucky) added 15 points and 9 rebounds respectively. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Rams will meet Saints (#10) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Airs will play against Sharks (#7) and hope to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Airs: T.Wynyard 15+9reb+2ast, H.Walker 15+5reb+5ast, M.Jones 14+13reb+3ast, R.Rodger 12+3reb+6ast, D.Carlin 8+1reb, A.Bailey-Nowell 4+1reb
Rams: J.Cook-Green 21+3reb+6ast, M.Darling 15+5reb+4ast, R.Taylor 15+1reb+1ast, S.Dech 10+8reb+10ast, T.Britt 9+1reb+3ast, M.Karena 7+3reb+1ast

Saints - Tuatara 91-106

Not a big story in a game in Wellington where Saints (0-3) were defeated by Huskies (4-0) 106-91 on Monday. Huskies dominated down low during the game scoring 66 of its points in the paint compared to Saints' 24 and made 16-of-21 free shots (76.2 percent) during the game. They outrebounded Saints 44-30 including a 33-19 advantage in defensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was American power forward Chris Johnson (210-85, college: LSU) who had a double-double by scoring 25 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists. The former international forward Robert Loe (211-91, college: St.Louis) chipped in a double-double by scoring 24 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was American point guard Mike Smith (180-1997, college: Michigan) who recorded 29 points and 7 assists and the former international forward Taane Samuel (200-1999) added 23 points and 5 rebounds respectively. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Huskies will meet at home Hawks (#6) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Saints will play against Rams (#2) and hope to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Saints: M.Smith 29+2reb+7ast, T.Samuel 23+5reb+1ast, M.Francis 11+4reb, J.Ngatai 11+6reb+1ast, D.Rangimarie 9+2reb+1ast, J.Helu 5+2reb+1ast
Tuatara: C.Johnson 25+17reb+4ast, R.Loe 24+10reb+5ast, T.Fahrensohn 20+5reb+5ast, M.Chris 16+3reb+1ast, I.Braydon 8+2reb+3ast, B.Thomas 7+3reb+1ast



Tags : SAM DEMPSTER, MIKE PERO NELSON GIANTS, NEW ZEALAND BASKETBALL