The Wellington Saints returned to the New Zealand National Basketball League in emphatic fashion with a 95-73 blowout over the reigning champions Otago Nuggets on Saturday, April 24.

After playing for the Taranaki Mountainairs last season, former FEU captain Ken Tuffin made his presence felt this time for his hometown Wellington with 5 points on 2-of-4 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and +19 in just 20 minutes off the bench.

Team captain Dion Prewster inflicted the most damage on the Nuggets with a game-high 31-point eruption on an 11-of-19 clip to go with 7 assists and 5 boards. 

Former La Salle reinforcement Taane Samuel chipped in 9 markers and 5 boards in 18 minutes.

After a back-and-forth opening quarter, the Saints made a late surge in the second frame to end the half up 19, 57-38, after an 11-2 run in the final 4 minutes.

The Saints then ran away with the game off another 13-2 blitz in the latter half of the third quarter to go up 30, 80-50, with 1:05 left.

They peaked at the 7:40 mark of the fourth with a 33-point advantage, 89-56, off a pull-up Prewster three, and never looked back.

Isaiah Moss led the defending champions in the humiliating opener loss with 20 points and 6 rebounds in just 23 minutes on the floor.

Although Otago won last year’s title, Wellington is still technically the team to beat after winning it all in 2019 for a league all-time high 11th title. 

The Saints then went on a hiatus in 2020 due to the onset of the pandemic before returning this year. – Rappler.com