WARWICK SMITH/Things
The Manawatū Jets are aiming for a win in their final game of the season this weekend.
BASKETBALL: The Manawatū Jets aim for a highlight in their final game of the season.
After a mid-season wave, the Jets have run out of energy and troops in recent weeks, so a win would be a good note to close on.
Unavailable players recently disrupted them. John Bohannon and Rob Crawford have battled illness, Zane Najdawi has returned to the United States this week after breaking his finger against the Otago Nuggets and Tu Kaha Cooper missed a game with a knee injury.
But on Sunday they have another game against the Bay Hawks in Napier and coach Natu Taufale was hoping for another win.
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“We have the Hawks, we will do our best to disrupt their plans to make the playoffs. We’ve lost one import, but the guys are still optimistic about it.”
He said the Hawks were a strong side with seven past and current Tall Blacks, but they weren’t in great shape, so the Jets had a chance to steal a win.
The Jets have lost five games in a row, but their last win was against the Hawks in Palmerston North last month.
Taufale said they cannot afford to let teams make the jump like they did in their 109-70 home loss to the Wellington Saints last weekend.
Their shots let them down that day and they trailed 28-2 and 32-4 in the first quarter.
“We have put that behind us and we have had a positive week. We are looking forward to the last game of the season.”
A win against the Hawks would also give the Jets a chance to avoid last place.
The Jets are last but have the same number of points as the Southland Sharks. If the Jets win this weekend and the Sharks lose their last two games, the Jets could finish ahead of them.
“We are at the bottom, but we have won five games,” Taufale said. “We are not far from the top six.
“It felt like in the last third of the season, the last six games, we got things like illness.
He said there was pressure on Hawke’s Bay as they were trying to maintain a top six spot when there was none on the Jets.