Cougars size up Saints without Behrendorff

JASON OXENHAM/Fairfax

OCCUPIED: The Cougars will have to do without Tim Behrendorff when they take on the Wellington Saints.

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Any hopes of Christchurch Cougars seven-footer Tim Behrendorff rushing across the Tasman to combat Wellington Saints' tall timber in the national basketball league match at Cowles Stadium tonight have been dashed.

Behrendorff's Wollongong Hawks are locked at one-all in the best-of-three Australian league final series against Perth after winning 75-63 two nights ago, meaning the playoff goes to a decider in Perth tomorrow. It had been hoped Behrendorff might have been available for the Cougars.

However, Cougars coach Andrew Gardiner said it would have been unlikely that Behrendorff would have boarded a plane yesterday – given end-of-season contractual obligations – and come cold into the team.

Gardiner is resigned to Behrendorff probably missing next week's away doubleheader against Waikato and Taranaki as well.

The Australian could miss the first five matches, with the Cougars also having a game this Saturday against Otago in Dunedin.

Saints present a size struggle for the Cougars, with the return of 2.1-metre Kiwi-resident American Nick Horvath.

Saints also have American forward recruit Erron Maxey.

The visitors bulked up their forward line with the late acquisition of Tall Black forward Casey Frank, another Kiwi-resident American, after his team, Auckland, was ditched from the league at the 11th hour. Saints have often brought talented individuals together, but have sometimes stumbled at the championship hurdle.

Gardiner believes the Cougars will have better early-season combinations than the Saints.

The Cougars, with their guardline depth, will probably try to make life miserable for George Leafa and Randall Bishop, and not let them into a half-court game where they can bang the ball inside to their big players.

However, the Cougars will have to play better offensively then they did last week against the Bay Hawks, a match they pulled from the fire in the closing stages after trailing by 20 points.

"Without a doubt we need to execute better offensively and the guys know that," Gardiner said.

"But I'm confident we have the systems in place to get these guys good shots when the break is not there.

Gardiner did not believe Saints would be that slow up court, with their big men all mobile.

Promising guard Dan Peck returns to bolster the Cougars in the shooting-guard position, where Gardiner believes he has enough firepower in Adrian Taylor, Aidan Daly and Peck.

Last week, the team relied on Paora Winitana (27 points) and point guard Jeremy Kench (20) for their offensive impetus.

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