Tuatara, Whai qualify for NBL Playoffs
- NZ Sports Wire
- Jul 8
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 8
The Auckland Tuatara and Tauranga Whai have clinched the last two berths in the National Basketball League (NBL) Playoffs.
The Tuatara and Whai recorded wins in Week 16 to reach the six-team postseason, with the Whai relying on the Canterbury Rams beating the Franklin Bulls in the regular season finale to get in.
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The second-year Whai will be making their playoffs debut when they head to New Plymouth to face the Taranaki Airs on Wednesday (tip-off 7pm).
The Tuatara, the beaten finalists the last three seasons, will make the longest road trip in the league, travelling to Invercargill to play the Southland Sharks on Thursday (tip-off 7pm).
Awaiting the winners of those play-in games are the regular season champion Wellington Saints, who went 16-4, and the Canterbury Rams, just a game behind.
The Saints, chasing their 13th NBL title, will host the lowest-seeded play-in winner at TSB Arena on Sunday (tip-off 3pm).
The two-time defending champion Rams will welcome the highest-seeded play-in winner to Cowles Stadium on Saturday (tip-off 2pm).
The championship game is set for Sunday, July 20 (tip-off 2pm) on the home floor of the highest-seeded semifinal winner.
Going into the final week of the season, two playoffs spots remaining up for grabs, with the Tuatara, Whai, Bulls, Manawatū Jets and Nelson Giants in the mix.
The Whai gave themselves a chance with a 103-93 upset of the Jets in Tauranga last Wednesday, but still needed help and the Sharks, Otago Nuggets and Rams provided it.
Southland eliminated the Giants with a 91-87 win at the Trafalgar Centre on Thursday, the Nuggets upset the Jets 101-95 in Palmerston North on Saturday, and the Rams toppled the Bulls 107-91 at home on Sunday.
The Tuatara clinched their spot with a 96-67 road rout of the Hawke’s Bay Hawks on Saturday, while the Airs locked up the three seed with a 93-83 home victory over the Nuggets on Friday.
The Saints and Rams decided the regular season title last Tuesday in the Capital, with Wellington coming away with a 90-84 win in a potential final preview.
It was the Saints’ 12th regular season crown, the first since 2021.
