The NBL New Zealand Playoffs Wellington Saints vs Auckland Huskies will be held on August 10, 8:00 PM (New Zealand Time) and 1:30 PM (Indian Time).
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Wellington Saints vs Auckland Huskies NBL New Zealand Playoffs game will be held on August 10. Wellington Saints forward Xavier Cooks has dominated the annual National Basketball League awards. The outstanding Aussie was the big winner, winning the league’s Stuff MVP, being named to the All-Star Five, and winning the Commissioners Cup for Outstanding Forward. Cooks was joined in the All-Star Five by Taranaki Airs’ American duo Anthony Hilliard and Javonte Douglas, Nelson Giants’ American point guard Jarrod West and Auckland Tuatara big man Chris Johnson. The voting panel included all 10 head coaches, plus five independent members: NBL general manager Huw Beynon, NBL media manager Jake Fitzgibbon, former Tall Blacks Casey Frank and Phill Jones, and Sky Sports commentator Justin Nelson. Cooks, who just led the Sydney Kings to the Australian NBL title and picked up the big MVP honor, didn’t miss a beat in the New Zealand league. A threat at both ends of the court, he regularly produced stunning stat lines that impressed with his scoring, rebounding, passing and defensive skills.
The 26-year-old averaged 21.8 points per game with 59.9% shots from the field and 11.9 rebounds per game. He also averaged 4.4 assists, 1.6 blocks, and 1.8 steals per game. Cooks was a key player for the Saints, who enjoyed a worrying 3-7 start to the season under former coach Guy Molloy. Under his replacement, Saints legend Troy McLean has racked up victories, winning six in a row and seven of the last eight to qualify fourth for this week’s top six in Auckland. The Giants’ West Guard deserved recognition in the All-Star Five. He was also named Most Outstanding Shooting Guard, Defensive Player of the Year, and Assists Champion with a 7.3 per game. West was a major reason for Nelson’s success this season, who finished the round game in second place with a 12-6 record. Taranaki’s tandem, Hilliard and Douglas were great for the history of the competition, the airs. After ending last season with two wins in 17 games, the Airs pulled off a surprising turnaround to lead the league table after the regular season. It was the first time in 30 years that a team from Taranaki led the NBL after playing the round with the New Plymouth Bears, the last time being in 1992. leagues around the world, that was the highest NBL regular-season leading scorer at 26.6 per game. That included a season-high 41 in a win over the Saints in July.
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The NBL New Zealand Playoffs Wellington Saints vs Auckland Huskies will be held on August 10, 8:00 PM (New Zealand Time) and 1:30 PM (Indian Time). Fans can live stream the match on ESPN and Indians can log in to Fancode.com.
Wellington Saints: Troy McLean, Mike Smith, Joshua Tutagalevao, Evyatar Tabor, Xavier Cooks
Auckland Huskies: Robert Loe, Nicholas Barrow, Chris Johnson, Siler Schneider, Dontae Nance
