Giants can't seal the deal

The NBS Nelson Giants will have to wait until the final game of the regular season to see if they can book their spot in the playoffs.

A 79-88 defeat to the Otago Nuggets sees their game on Sunday evening critical in holding onto their sixth spot position on the table despite an eight-win and eleven-loss record.

With Otago part of the two-team chasing pack, alongside the Tauranga Whai, the defeat at Trafalgar Centre was a double blow as they inched one step closer to unseating the Giants for the last playoff spot on the competition ladder.

Both the Nuggets and the Whai will have to win their final game of the season if they want a chance to snatch the final playoff spot.

If they do secure the win, the Giants will still have the season in their own hands as they need a win against the Taranaki Airs to round out the NBL regular season calendar.

Meanwhile, if both teams lose then the Giants have nothing to worry about from their final game except wanting the momentum of a win to take into the sudden-death playoffs.

With the Airs sitting third on the table and the Nuggets eighth, it will be a significantly harder task to secure that spot after this loss.

The Giants, without Theo Akwuba for the remainder of their campaign, were outplayed on their own court.

It hasn’t been the team’s season at the Trafalgar Centre, extending their losing streak at home to six in a row with the loss.

They were outclassed on the defensive end, with the Nuggets shooting an impressive 55 per cent from the field as they frequently found strong looks at a shot with a fluid offence.

Meanwhile, with the Giants with a shooting percentage of 34, it was always going to be an uphill battle.

Despite conceding a significant size difference, with Theo’s absence noticeable as he returns to America for personal reasons, it wasn’t as sorely felt as it could have been.

The Giants led the rebounding, 43-37, with Sam Dempster (10), Dan Fotu (9) and Dan Grida (7) all in the mix.

Grida was the Giants’ top scorer, with another 28 points for his season tally after posting 40 in their loss last Sunday.

Fotu’s return to the team after Tall Black duties was welcomed, with 20 points and three steals alongside his rebounds.