Giants make statement win

The NBS Nelson Giants have put together their most complete performance of the season, racing away to a 104-77 win over the Manawatu Jets.

Despite the absence of Dan Fotu, who was off with Tall Black duties, the team was a well-oiled machine in a dominant performance, which will send a statement to the rest of the league.

Led by the imports, Kobe Langley, Theo Akwuba and Dan Grida, everyone chipped in, with Hayden Jones and James Matthews on U17 World Cup duties and thinning the bench.

Kobe, with an MVP performance, put up an impressive 21 points, eight assists and two steals.

Theo would have the most impact with his time on the court, with the team adding 25 points to their lead while he was on. He would finish with a double-double of 16 points and 14 points.

Dan Grida led the way with the scoring, with a game-high 22 points and five rebounds despite the least minutes of any of the starters with some early foul trouble.

Sam Dempster was back in the starting five with Dan Fotu’s absence, stepping up to the plate with four three-pointers to finish with 16 points.

Ashton Inwood had his best performance of the season, playing over 25 minutes to finish with eight points and seven rebounds.

Nick Davidson and Tom Ingham would add six each, while Adam Barton made his Giants debut but not getting anything to add to his stats other than a foul.

The win sees the Giants, who sit at sixth on the leaderboard with six teams making the playoffs, move two games clear of the chasing pack.

Next up are the Southland Sharks, who will look to earn just their third win of the season when they take on the Giants at Trafalgar Centre on Sunday, 30 June.