The Supercity Rangers mastered a book-end performance to eclipse the Manawatu Jets by 11pts in the season-opening encounter of the 2019 Sal’s NBL.
Played in front of vocal Jets fans trying to keep warm and dry on a cold and wet evening outside, and beamed around the country live on SKY and Prime TV, the Rangers looked red-hot early as they raced to a 27-13 lead.
With imports Tim Quarterman (23pts) and Venky Jois (24pts) leading the charge, the opening 10-minutes looked like it was going to be a long and painful night for the home team, however a dramatic turn early in the second period put the Rangers on the back foot.
Wally Ellenson (24pts) found his range and consistently looked a threat for the Jets as they piled on 52 to 34 during the middle quarters, a run that gave them 4-point advantage going into the final period.
Foul trouble for Quarterman proved pivotal late in the third quarter as the Jets gained the upper-hand and looked headed for a thrilling home win, however as the final term started and Quarterman and Jois returned to the floor, it didn’t take long for the Rangers to up the ante and push the ball in transition to good effect.
A trio of triples by the Rangers in the space of 90-seconds midway through the quarter put the contest to bed, the Jets left without answers as they managed just one field goal in the last 5-minutes of the game.
A solid effort for the Rangers to open the season and plenty of good signs from their key playmakers. One thing both teams will take away and review will be the level of inconsistence, perhaps just an opening-game issue that will be rectified quickly, however it won’t be lost on either coach that their respective team showed flashes of quick scoring matched by periods of lengthy dry spells.
The Rangers complete a busy weekend with a trip to Napier on Saturday night to play the Hawks, while the Jets will cool their heels until next Thursday night when they host incoming Southern Huskies in their first ever NZ NBL game.
Full Game Stats - HERE
SUPERCITY RANGERS
Points
Venky Jois 24
Tim Quarterman 23
Randall Bishop 12
Rebounds
Venky Jois 11
Nnanna Egwu 9
Randall Bishop 6
Assists
Tim Quarterman 5
Randall Bishop 4
Hyrum Hippolite 2
Steals
Tim Quarterman 2
Randall Bishop 2
Venky Jois 2
Blocks
Nnanna Egwu 3
Venky Jois 2
MANAWATU JETS
Points
Wally Ellenson 24
Shane Temara 15
Taane Samuels 14
Rebounds
Kuran Iverson 10
Shane Temara 9
Wally Ellenson 9
Assists
Kuran Iverson 4
Jackson Stubbins 3
Shane Temara 2
Steals
Kuran Iverson 2
Wally Ellenson 1
Rangimarie Dougall-Mita 1
Blocks
Kuran Iverson 2
