The blue suit will need a dry-clean but it was definitely worth it. Otago Nuggets coach Brent Matehaere registered his 50th win in charge on Sunday afternoon and his team treated him to a liberal dousing of cold water to mark the occasion. Adrian Seconi looks back over the best five wins of the Matehaere era.
Mountain top
The Nuggets had spent five seasons on the sidelines. All attempts to revive the franchise had fallen short. Ironically, it was Covid-19 that provided a lifeline.
The National Basketball League staged a very different competition in 2020. The entire season was played in Auckland in just six weeks.
The Southland Sharks, the Hawke’s Bay Hawks and the Wellington Saints opted out. But the tournament’s format proved a winner.
The league also introduced a player draft and the Nuggets ended up securing their top two choices — Jordan Ngatai and Jarrod Kenny.
The Nuggets set the benchmark and qualified in top spot for the playoffs. They beat the Jets 105-80 in the qualifying final and dispatched the Rams 97-79 in the semifinal.
The Jets bounced back to make it through to the final. And what a final it was. The Nuggets trailed 55-52 with 10 minutes remaining. But they went on an 11-1 scoring run, then had to hold on.
Ngatai made a crucial block in the final moments, but Jordan Hunt was the star with 21 points and seven rebounds.
A new peak
The 2020 title came with a caveat. The Showdown was missing three league heavyweights. Plus there were no imports that year and the player draft was viewed by some as a gimmick.
There was a sense the Nuggets’ claim on a first NBL title needed to be followed by an asterisk to indicate it was incomplete in some way.
That burned for a couple of years until the 2022 team snuffed out the flame of doubt.
The 81-73 win against the Auckland Tuatara in the final established the Nuggets as NBL champions proper. No argument.
American import Keith Williams led the Nuggets with 34 points, while Tray Boyd sank 19 points. Todd Withers and Sam Timmins got the job done on the boards and kept Rob Loe relatively quiet.
When Nuggets coach Brent Matehaere was asked to compare the two titles, he said that would be "like comparing children. They’re different. I guess the only analogy I’ve got is it’s like babies".
Soaring high
Every season has its challenges — even winning ones.
The Nuggets hit a midseason slump in 2022. They had lost five of their past six games when they travelled to Napier to play the Hawks. They really needed a win to get the campaign back on track.
Boyd scored 30, and almost 32, but his last shot needed a little help to find the hole. With just seconds remaining, and the ball bobbling around, Hawks forward Hyrum Harris was poised to snatch the rebound and send the game into overtime. But Josh Aitcheson soared through the air and tipped it in to secure the win.
The Nuggets were under strength that evening. Star centre Timmins and classy guard Nikau McCullough were both unavailable. It was a big win in the context of what proved to be a championship-winning season.
Backs to the wall
The Nuggets were on track for three losses in five days last year but avoided the triple with a gutsy 101-85 win over the Wellington Saints.
The Nuggets pulled away in the third quarter. Australian guard Michael Harris led the charge with 33 points. He slotted six three-pointers that night and Withers drilled seven in a 27-point haul.
Timmins (15 points) and Jack Andrew (13) also made important contributions. It was a character-building win that helped the Nuggets get their season back on track.
The Tray Boyd show
Boyd replaced Tahjere McCall in the 2022 squad after six games. McCall had picked up an NBA summer league gig but the new recruit quickly proved his worth.
He had been in the country all of a week when he slotted 27 points to help lead the Nuggets to a 99-95 win over the table-topping Auckland Tuatara in Auckland. The American guard had bigger scoring nights, but that was a top effort against a classy side.
- Otago Nuggets guard Tai Webster has claimed the NBL performance of the week award for his 40-point haul against the Canterbury Rams in Christchurch. He has a hip injury, though, and has been listed as questionable for the Nuggets match against the Whai in Tauranga tonight.
Nuggets guard Dontae Russo-Nance has been named in the Nuggets squad for the game. He has been sidelined with a wrist complaint but is expected to make his debut.
NBL
Tauranga, 7.30pm today
Otago Nuggets: Tai Webster, Zaccheus Darko-Kelly, Ben Henshall, Kimani Lawrence, Jack Andrew, Darcy Knox, Robbie Coman, Josh Aitcheson, Matthew Bardsley, Dontae Russo-Nance, Matt Pyper, Caleb Smiler.
Tauranga Whai (possible): Demarcus Holland, Denhym Booke, Jayden Bezzant, Kruz Perrott-Hunt, Phil Carr, Te Tuhi Lewis, Adam Dunstan, Harlan Roudon, Te Maire van der Ledan, Jayden Boucher, Jett Thompson.
