TITANIC
CLASH ON THE CARDS
30 JULY 2001
by Corey Brown and Piet Van HasseltIn perhaps the biggest
match-up in the penultimate round of the 2001
National Basketball League, WestpacTrust
Canterbury Ram John "Pope" Whorton will
face off against prolific point scorer and
Waikato Titan Clifton Bush on Saturday afternoon
in Christchurch.
Both are no strangers when it comes to exploding
for high point scoring nights. Bush has earned
himself the nickname 'SuperBush' for his exploits
and he leads the NBL with an average of 26.5
points per game, while Canterbury's 'Pope'
Whorton is fourth best with 21.3 points per game.
Bush is also among the top 10 in four other
statistical categories and holds the record for
points in a game this year (46). When the Titans
and Rams meet on Saturday afternoon, it will take
a point-scoring blitz from one of these two stars
to give either side the edge over its opponents.
The last time they met was back in early June and
the Titans won 110-86, after the Rams led 32-24
at the end of the first quarter. This time the
circumstances are different. Canterbury is in a
position where they must win their last two
matches to further their cause for a playoff
spot, while Waikato are undefeated and assured of
a home semi-final.
Whorton was inspirational last week for the Rams
as he amassed 32 points and 19 rebounds in his
best performance of the season. He guided
Canterbury to a 97-72 win over the struggling
Mighty Hawks and kept the Rams' playoff hopes
alive for yet another round. Whorton will have to
pull off a similar Herculean effort against the
Titans this weekend.
Other key players for the Rams will be exciting
stars Tim "Hustle" Edmonds, who set a
career high with 15 points last week, and the
devastating dunking machine Salasopo Tulua. The
NBL veteran duo of forwards Andrew Gardiner and
Craig Farrant have been among the Rams most
consistent performers of recent weeks from the
inside and outside respectively. Farrant is
celebrating his 200th regular season game in the
NZBL and will be looking to utilise his patented
turn-around jump shots and his hot form from
behind the three point arc. All of the Rams will
have to be performing at full throttle if
Canterbury wishes to topple the Titans.
The unbeaten Titans waltz into Christchurch with
the most impressive record in NBL history
standing at 13 wins and zero losses.
Controversial Coach Jeff Green began the 2001
season with a refreshed and revised roster and
his squad has been able to stave off strong
challenges from all-comers in the league thus
far. The talent-stacked Titan's line-up includes
not just 'SuperBush', but Tall Black Captain Pero
Cameron, sharp-shooting Prem Krishna, long-armed
Riki Strother, promising forward David Hopoi and
former Canterbury Ram Nat Connell. While the
Titans squad lacks overall height, their
run-and-gun style relies more on quickness, speed
and hustle which has led them to their impressive
record. A formidable task lies ahead for the
Rams.
The game tip-off is at 2.30pm at the WestpacTrust
Centre. Tickets are available at Ticketek.
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