Samuel, Tuffin conspire as Wellington cruises to blowout anew

The Wellington Saints prove yet again why they are the 2019 New Zealand National Basketball League (NBL) champions as they cruised to a 105-73 blowout over the Southland Sharks on Friday, May 7 on their home floor, TSB Bank Arena.

With the win, the dominant Saints rose to a 3-0 record, while the erstwhile undefeated Sharks sunk to 2-1.

Former La Salle foreign student-athlete Taane Samuel had his best game so far of the new season, as he erupted for a game-high 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting, and 5-of-8 from downtown with 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

Meanwhile, Ex-FEU captain Ken Tuffin brought the intangibles as he chipped in 9 points on a 3-of-5 clip from downtown, and was a game-high +32 for the night.

Following a relatively competitive first 3 quarters where Southland only trailed by 6, 65-71, early in the fourth, Wellington responded as only champions can with a massive 20-0 run to emphatically put the game away midway through the frame, 91-65.

Head coach Zico Coronel then opted to keep his starters in the game for a few more garbage time minutes as the Saints peaked with a 32-point lead for the final score.

Brayden Inger and Alonzo Burton paced the hapless Southland in the stunning endgame rout with just 12 points apiece. However, 4 other Sharks scored at least 9 points as a consolation in the brutal loss.

Wellington now shifts their dominant warpath towards the Nelson Giants on Saturday, May 15, still at TSB Bank Arena. – Rappler.com