That was five of their top eight players and they didn’t have the depth to cover their absence, especially in the forwards, as the Temara brothers, Daniels and McKinlay were all the Jets’ big men. McKinlay dislocated his knee and Shane Temara badly sprained his ankle in the first-round game against the Saints. Temara’s appendix later burst and he required two operations. He should be out of hospital in the next week. Coach Tim McTamney bemoaned the injury toll. “The schedule to start the season really hurt us. We came right and started playing very well. Then of course that Saints game – two major injuries in the first half and after that an injury every week from then.
Brendon Egan12:13, Jul 07 2021
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Isaiah Moss and the Otago Nuggets face a defining weekend in the NBL.
OPINION: Two rounds remain in the National Basketball League’s regular season. The Saints, Hawks, and Sharks are all close to securing their final four spots, while the Huskies and Nuggets are jostling for fourth place. BRENDON EGAN looks ahead to round 11.
Do or die for Nuggets Round 11 will make or break the Otago Nuggets’ season. The NBL Showdown champions face a critical weekend, fighting for their finals lives and really need to win both games. The Nuggets (9-6), who are a game behind the Huskies (10-6), could not have scripted a tougher doubleheader, travelling to Invercargill to play the Southland Sharks on Friday. They are then back in action on Monday away to the Wellington Saints. If the Nuggets have final four aspirations, they need to show they can beat the best teams in the league and there is no better platform than this round. America
The Saints and Hawks will be particularly tough, but Manawatū have shown in their win over the Canterbury Rams last week and in parts of the loss to the Huskies, they haven’t given up yet. They could upset a couple of the teams they still have to play to give themselves more confidence after a tough season. Having made a slow start against the Huskies on Sunday, they roared back into the game, closing the gap to 37-35 at halftime and led 46-39 after the break. Both teams went on runs and it was level until midway through the fourth quarter. But the Jets missed a couple of shots at the end and let the Huskies get away on them.
Fundraising efforts for a future Waitaki Event Centre have just been given another massive boost.
In the Waitaki District Council’s 2021-32 long-term plan, which was adopted on Tuesday, the council has confirmed it will contribute up to $9 million for the project, with a further $1 million coming from the RMA reserve.
With $10 million from the council and an anonymous $5 million pledge – ”the catalyst for getting the ball rolling” – the Waitaki Event Centre Trust now has the task of raising another $5 million by the end of the year.
Trustee Kevin Malcolm said the council’s and anonymous donor’s contributions to the centre were superb and gave the trust the momentum to move forward.
It was hoped Shane Temara would return from his ankle injury soon and his presence would be a boost when the Jets host the Auckland Huskies on Sunday. While it still looks to be a rough road to finish the year, if they can reproduce the performance from the Rams game in their last four games of the season, they will be more than competitive. Guard Daishon Knight led the way in both games at the weekend, but he went big against the Rams with a triple double, scoring 30 points to go with 16 rebounds and 11 assists. Nikau McCullough put in his best performance, scoring a career-high 25 points, and DeAndre Daniels scored 22 points.