NBL Round 15 (Regular Season): Bulls lose to Giants

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game between third ranked Bulls (8-5) and eleventh ranked Giants (3-9) was the most important one in the last round on Sunday night. Bulls were defeated by Giants in Pukekohe 80-91. Giants shot 23 for 34 from the free-throw line, while Bulls only scored seven points from the stripe. 27 personal fouls committed by Bulls helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. It was a good game for American power forward Jeremy Combs (201-1995, college: Texas Southern) who led his team to a victory with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. His fellow American import guard Andrew Jones (193-1997, college: Texas) contributed with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. German center Till Gloger (204-1993, college: Maine) answered with 20 points for Bulls. Giants moved-up to tenth place. Bulls at the other side dropped to the fourth position with five games lost. They share it with Jets. Giants are looking forward to face league's leader Rams in Christchurch in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Bulls will play on the road against Jets in Palmerston North and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Bulls (8-5) against fifth ranked Airs (8-4) on Wednesday night. Visiting Bulls were crushed by Airs in New Plymouth 117-91. It was a great evening for Carlin Davison (197-2003) who led his team to a victory scoring 36 points (!!!), 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Armon Fletcher helped adding 23 points and 5 rebounds. The best for the losing side was the former international guard Tobias Cameron (196-1999, college: ACU) with 25 points. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Airs moved-up to third place. Bulls at the other side dropped to the fourth position with five games lost. They share it with Jets. Airs will play against bottom-ranked Panthers (#12) in Auckland in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Bulls will play on the road against Jets (#5) in Palmerston North and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
The game in Southland was also quite interesting. Sixth ranked Hawks (8-6) played at the court of 8th ranked Sharks (6-7). Hawks managed to secure a 7-point victory 97-90 on Thursday. It was an exceptional evening for Daniel Grida who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 31 points and 10 rebounds. Samuel Timmins came up with 30 points and 8 rebounds for Sharks in the defeat. Hawks maintains sixth place with 8-6 record. Loser Sharks keep the eighth position with seven games lost. Hawks will meet Nuggets (#11) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Sharks will have a break next round.

In the last game of round 15 Nuggets were beaten by Sharks on the road 91-80.



Bulls - Giants 80-91

The game between third ranked Bulls (8-5) and eleventh ranked Giants (3-9) was the most important one in the last round on Sunday night. Bulls were defeated by Giants in Pukekohe 80-91. Giants shot 23 for 34 from the free-throw line, while Bulls only scored seven points from the stripe. 27 personal fouls committed by Bulls helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. It was a good game for American power forward Jeremy Combs (201-1995, college: Texas Southern) who led his team to a victory with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. His fellow American import guard Andrew Jones (193-1997, college: Texas) contributed with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. German center Till Gloger (204-1993, college: Maine) answered with 20 points and American guard Tae Hardy (190-1998, college: UTEP) added 13 points and 6 assists in the effort for Bulls. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Giants moved-up to tenth place. Bulls at the other side dropped to the fourth position with five games lost. They share it with Jets. Giants are looking forward to face league's leader Rams in Christchurch in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Bulls will play on the road against Jets in Palmerston North and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Bulls: T.Gloger 20+4reb, T.Hardy 13+4reb+6ast, M.Jones 12+3reb+1ast, D.Okwera 12+5reb+4ast, T.Cameron 11+2reb+7ast, E.Rusbatch 9+4reb+2ast
Giants: A.Jones 19+6reb+4ast, L.Judd 18+4reb, J.Combs 18+8reb+4ast, H.Jones 13+4reb+1ast, A.Robinson 11+3reb+3ast, S.Dempster 6+1reb+1ast

Sharks - Nuggets 91-80

No shocking result in a game when eighth ranked Sharks (6-7) beat 11th ranked Nuggets (3-10) in Southland 91-80 on Sunday. Sharks outrebounded Nuggets 45-30 including 19 on the offensive glass. Sharks looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. It was an exceptional evening for American forward Keylan Boone (203-2000, college: UNLV, agency: Interperformances) who led the winners and scored 31 points and 6 rebounds. His fellow American import guard Caleb Asberry (191-2000, college: OK State) accounted for 26 points and 6 assists for the winning side. Four Sharks players scored in double figures. American guard Donald Carey (196-1999, college: Maryland) came up with 26 points and 9 assists and the former international Jonathan Janssen (205-1995, college: HPU) added 21 points and 10 rebounds respectively for Nuggets in the defeat. Nuggets' coach Mike Kelly rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Sharks maintains eighth place with 6-7 record. Nuggets lost eighth consecutive game. They keep the eleventh position with ten games lost. Sharks will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Nuggets will play against Hawks (#6) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Nuggets: D.Carey 26+4reb+9ast, J.Janssen 21+10reb+3ast, P.Freeman 12+5reb, J.Sebree 5+5reb+7ast, M.Bardsley 5+1reb, M.Stodart 3
Sharks: K.Boone 31+6reb+1ast, C.Asberry 26+4reb+6ast, A.Burton 13+6reb, J.Allick 12+19reb+3ast, T.Cooper 6+1reb+2ast, S.Timmins 3+6reb+5ast

Airs - Bulls 117-91

Very important is a road loss of third ranked Bulls (8-5) against fifth ranked Airs (8-4) on Wednesday night. Visiting Bulls were crushed by Airs in New Plymouth 117-91. Bulls were plagued by 28 personal fouls down the stretch. It was a great evening for Carlin Davison (197-2003) who led his team to a victory scoring 36 points (!!!), 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. American Armon Fletcher (196-1995, college: SIU) helped adding 23 points and 5 rebounds. The best for the losing side was the former international guard Tobias Cameron (196-1999, college: ACU) with 25 points and the former international center Jordan Hunt (206-1997, college: S.Oregon, agency: One Motive Sports) scored 12 points and 8 rebounds. Five Airs and four Bulls players scored in double figures. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Airs moved-up to third place. Bulls at the other side dropped to the fourth position with five games lost. They share it with Jets. Airs will play against bottom-ranked Panthers (#12) in Auckland in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Bulls will play on the road against Jets (#5) in Palmerston North and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Bulls: T.Cameron 25+3reb+3ast, T.Gloger 15+4reb+1ast, T.Hardy 13+2reb+2ast, J.Hunt 12+8reb, D.Okwera 9+6reb+2ast, K.Nwafor 6+5reb
Airs: C.Davison 36+9reb+5ast, A.Fletcher 23+5reb+1ast, D.Kelman-Poto 15+3reb+3ast, O.Foxwell 14+1reb+4ast, J.Andrew 14+9reb+1ast, J.Gerrand 6+3reb

Sharks - Hawks 90-97

The game in Southland was also quite interesting. Sixth ranked Hawks (8-6) played at the court of 8th ranked Sharks (6-7). Hawks managed to secure a 7-point victory 97-90 on Thursday. Hawks made 30-of-34 free shots (88.2 percent) during the game, while Sharks only scored seven points from the stripe. It was an exceptional evening for Australian swingman Daniel Grida (195-1998) who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 31 points and 10 rebounds. The former international guard Jackson Ball (191-2008) accounted for 21 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists for the winning side. The former international power forward Samuel Timmins (211-1997, college: Washington) came up with 30 points and 8 rebounds and American guard Caleb Asberry (191-2000, college: OK State) added 18 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists respectively for Sharks in the defeat. Five Hawks and four Sharks players scored in double figures. Hawks maintains sixth place with 8-6 record. Loser Sharks keep the eighth position with seven games lost. Hawks will meet Nuggets (#11) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Sharks will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Sharks: S.Timmins 30+8reb+2ast, C.Asberry 18+6reb+9ast, K.Boone 16+11reb+3ast, A.Burton 10+1ast, J.Allick 9+10reb+5ast, T.Cooper 7+1reb+1ast
Hawks: D.Grida 31+10reb+2ast, W.Swaka 23+7reb, J.Ball 21+5reb+6ast, D.Cowart 11+8reb+8ast, L.Yates 10+8reb, C.Scott 1+1reb+3ast