NZNBL Wrap (May 28, 2024)

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

The New Zealand National Basketball League is stacked with NBL talent.

Illawarra’s Sam Froling has continued his exceptional season for the third-placed Taranaki Airs, as they continue to stay within touching distance of both ladder-leaders Auckland and second-placed Canterbury.

The Airs registered their third dominant win in a row with a dominant win over a Hawkes Bay side missing star guard Keanu Rasmussen, following their tight loss to the Rams earlier this month.

Froling was an interior force against NBL24 Cairns import Josh Roberts and ended the clash with a game-high 27 points and 16 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end.

Melbourne’s Flynn Cameron continued his strong form with 16 points and six assists, while Roberts had four blocks in the Hawks’ 27-point defeat.

Auckland’s raft of local current and former Tall Blacks continued to cement the Tuatara’s position on top of the NZNBL ladder, with Rob Loe continuing to push his case for a second consecutive league MVP award.

Loe registered 21 points and 13 rebounds in the win over the hot and cold Nelson Giants, while Tasmania’s Tom Vodanovich top scored with 30 points in the 18-point win.

Loe’s fellow Auckland MVP candidate and NBL free agent Corey Webster failed to hit the heights of some of his recent performances and added just 12 points on 6-20 shooting, but has established himself as one of the most dangerous offensive forces in the competition in the season so far.

Nelson rebounded from its loss to the high-flying Auckland side with a convincing victory over the Franklin Bulls, in which Dan Grida starred with 30 points, while teammate Dan Fotu added 22 points in the 105-95 win.

Lachlan Olbrich helped out his Canterbury Rams to a pair of victories this week, including a solid 23-point smashing of the Wellington Saints.

Star Saints forward Hyrum Harris played just four minutes in the defeat to the Olbrich and Taylor Britt-led Rams, with Ben Ayre and Tohi-Smith Milner picking up the offensive hole left by the Wildcat.

Both Ayre and Smith-Milner registered 21 points in the defeat, while Olbrich finished with 22 points and 10 boards.

Former Perth Wildcat Britt ended the game with 17 points and seven assists.

The victory came after Canterbury’s earlier 14-point win over the Whai, where Olbrich scored a game-high 21 points.

Lat Mayen (Wellington) – 15PTS, 3Reb, 4AST vs Canterbury

Tohi Smith-Milner (Wellington) – 21PTS, 8REB, 1BLK vs Canterbury

Josh Roberts (Hawkes Bay) – 6PTS, 5REB, 4BLK vs Taranaki

Sam Froling (Taranaki) – 27PTS, 16REB, 4BLK vs Hawkes Bay
Lachlan Olbrich (Canterbury) – 21PTS, 9REB, 3STL vs Whai | 22PTS, 10REB, 3AST vs Wellington
Dan Grida (Nelson) – 17PTS, 6REB, 1AST vs Auckland | 30PTS, 8REB, 3AST vs Franklin

Flynn Cameron (Taranaki) – 16PTS, 6REB, 6AST vs Taranaki
Rob Loe (Auckland) – 21PTS, 13REB, 4AST vs Nelson

Carlin Davison (Taranaki) – 11PTS, 7REB, 3AST vs Hawkes Bay
Mitch McCarron (Taranaki) – 10PTRS, 5REB, 9AST vs Hawkes Bay
Max Darling (Canterbury) – 3PTS, 3REB, 1STL vs Whai | 5PTS, 3REB, 3AST vs Wellington
Cam Gliddon (Auckland) – 11PTS, 10REB, 2AST vs Nelson
Alex McNaught (Nelson) – 8PTS, 4AST, 3STL vs Auckland | 4PTS, 2REB, 4AST vs Franklin
Dan Fotu (Nelson) – 5PTS, 4REB, 2STL vs Auckland | 22PTS, 4REB, 4AST vs Franklin
Dom Kelman-Poto (Franklin) – 11PTS, 13REB, 2AST vs Nelson

Ben Henshall (Otago) – 20PTS, 7REB, 3AST vs Southland
Dontae Russo-Nance (Otago) – 19PTS, 5REB, 5AST vs Southland
Jack Andrew (Otago) 8PTS, 5REB, 1BLK vs Southland
Hyrum Harris (Wellington) – 2PTS, 2REB, 1AST vs Canterbury