Sunday's Service – Round 7

Hey everyone, I hope you’ve all had a great Christmas and New Year with your loved ones. There’s plenty to look forward to in 2022 and I’m really excited for what it has in store for us on and off the court. 

We are five games in, with 23 to go in this ever chopping and changing landscape as we navigate through COVID. We could be scheduled to play a game in a couple of days before a border closure or a couple of cases derail those plans. Finding our way through these uncharted territories is done in the pursuit of winning the championship trophy at the end of the season, which is our topic of discussion today. 

What is winning to you and what does it mean? A rather subjective question when looked at deeply. In our case it is measured by the number of wins and losses in a season, that is inevitably what we are judged on when it comes to success in the public eye. At a more intrinsic level we look at the growth patterns throughout the year and how we were able to move forward regardless of obstacles. Looking at the microscopic lens of things more times than not leads to wins. 

Back in 2019, I was fortunate enough to win the NBL championship trophy with the Wildcats. I had returned from college the year before and to win another chip my first year back in the league is something I definitely took for granted. To win in this league is very tough to do. Generally speaking you play each team four times and you get quite comfortable recognising player tendencies and actions which doesn’t allow much room for error when it comes to scouting. 

In a league such as the NBL there is no leeway for not knowing your opponent in and out therefore making winning games very difficult. It reflects in the offensive and defensive ratings of teams when it comes to the pointy end of the season. On average there is usually a margin of five to seven points between the highest scoring team in the league and the lowest meaning blowouts are far less common. 
 
Something even more unusual in sports is to go undefeated in a single season. Following the 2019 championship with Perth I headed across the water to New Zealand to play for the Wellington Saints in the NZNBL. The Saints are the most successful team in the NZNBL who have won an astounding 12 championships. One of those 12 championships was in 2019, where we went undefeated going 20-0. 

This was the second time the Saints had gone undefeated in a season previously accomplishing this feat in 2017. To say our team in 2019 was stacked would be an understatement. At the time we had eight NBL players and a head coach Paul Henare, who had to manage such talent and piece it all together. 

Our team roster consisted of; Shea Ili (United), Jordan Ngatai (Taipans), Reuben Te Rangi (Phoenix), Nick Kay (Wildcats/Japan), Rob Loe (Breakers), Tom Abercrombie (Breakers), Leon Henry (Crocs), myself and four more up and coming New Zealand talent. 
 
Our practices were harder than games as Pauli (coach) facilitated an environment where he held everyone accountable, enabling us to compete at such a high level every session. He always expected more from us and didn’t let us get complacent, which is often the case when you mix lots of talent and winning. Although we won the championship that year it definitely came with some challenges as we got every team’s best game, night in and night out. We were the benchmark so there were no easy games. 
 
I learnt a lot that year both on and off the court. Our head coach Pauli is a New Zealand Breakers legend who has his No. 32 jersey in the rafters so learning from him was something I was really looking forward to heading into that season. He was able to help me read the game and see different things from the point guard position, something I was adding to my arsenal. 

I was the backup point guard to Shea Ili and our daily battles would prove invaluable in learning how to lead a team. Sometimes it felt like looking in the mirror having someone guard me the full length of the court, who never seemed to get tired. Everyone had their nuances and the way they went about things but the one thing that was present in us all was the competitiveness to win every shooting drill, scrimmage and even half court shots before the games. 
 
The competitive drive started at the top with upper management, the Mills family. They constantly pushed to have the Saints organisation be the best regarding community engagement, game night presentation and our interactions with business and the Wellington community. This in turn helped us on the court as we knew that management would look after us in any endeavour we needed.  
 
There’s a lot that goes into winning but my biggest takeaway is how everyone involved takes care of one another. From the front office to the event staff, coaching group and players. They make sure they facilitate an environment that helps us thrive on the court. 

Here at the 36ers we are very fortunate to have such a group who work tirelessly day to day behind the scenes. Obviously there are so many people to name when it comes to this space and they know how much we appreciate them, because at the end of the day if they aren’t there we wouldn’t be able to do what we do on the practice court and game nights. 

As my kiwi brothers would say daily; SHOT USO!