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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine

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Speaker 1: from Newstalk Z'B.

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Speaker 2: The Cells NBL Finals this afternoon. This is the National

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Speaker 2: Basketball League Canevary Rams Auckland to a TATA tip off

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Speaker 2: two thirty Cows Stadium, christ Church. Justin Nelson has the

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Speaker 2: call on Sky. He joins us, Now, Justin, have we

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Speaker 2: got the Sorry, I just had to put you on

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Speaker 2: the air. Have we got the best two teams in

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Speaker 2: the final?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? I definitely think we have. They finished one and two.

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Speaker 3: Of course, the Rams went on that sixteen game winning

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Speaker 3: streak through the season. The Tuatara had a ten game

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Speaker 3: winning streak. Definitely the best two teams and not surprisingly

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Speaker 3: given the way they've built their rosters over the last

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Speaker 3: couple of years. We have a back to back Grand

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Speaker 3: Final rematch.

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Speaker 2: Who are the favorites then this afternoon?

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Speaker 3: Justin Well, Rams will start favorites. I mean they're on

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Speaker 3: their home deck. They've had a really good record at

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Speaker 3: Cow's Stadium over the last couple of years. Interestingly, though,

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Speaker 3: they did lose to the Tuatara earlier this season at

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Speaker 3: Cowl Stadium. That was the game when the Tuatara came

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Speaker 3: out and put together a forty seven point second quarter

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Speaker 3: to go on and take the win. However, the Rams

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Speaker 3: on that day didn't have Lucky Old Brick MVP of

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Speaker 3: the league this season, and didn't have star import kJ

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Speaker 3: Buff and both of those players will be running around today.

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Speaker 2: That's an outlier though. Wasn't it a forty seven point quarter?

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Speaker 1: Yeah?

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Speaker 2: It is.

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Speaker 3: You don't often see it, I think for memory. They

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Speaker 3: hit something like nineteen of twenty one shots from the field,

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Speaker 3: and you know, Corey Webs to Rob Low, Tom Danovitch,

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Speaker 3: they just all fired and caught I suppose caught the

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Speaker 3: Rams off guard at that particular time, and it's one

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Speaker 3: of those quarters in basketball that you just dream of.

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Speaker 2: This season has thrown up so many different storylines and

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Speaker 2: we almost had another one when the Tananhaky Airs were

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Speaker 2: at cal Stadium a week or so ago against the

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Speaker 2: Canterbury Rams. What do we go to two periods of

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Speaker 2: overtime justin Yeah, it was.

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Speaker 3: The best game I've seen since I've been in New

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Speaker 3: Zealand and speaking to people across the competition, remembering the

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Speaker 3: sales NBL has been going for forty three years, lots

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Speaker 3: of people saying this is the best game they've ever

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Speaker 3: seen in the history of the competition, which is quite

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Speaker 3: some sort of statement, but it was an amazing game,

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Speaker 3: double over time and it went right down to the way,

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Speaker 3: a one point victory for the Rams. The other semifinal

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Speaker 3: was a three point win for the Tultarer over the ball.

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Speaker 3: So across two semi finals collectively four points separating those

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Speaker 3: top four teams. And if we have a Grand Final

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Speaker 3: like that today, we'll be pretty happy.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, let's hope we get something similar. Just on the

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Speaker 2: Canterbury Rams. And you mentioned that incredible unbeaten run that

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Speaker 2: they went on, or that winning run that they went on.

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Speaker 2: What were the main planks of that? Why were they

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Speaker 2: so consistent?

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Speaker 3: Well, they've got this outstanding young center, this Australian out

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Speaker 3: of Adelaide place for the Illawarra Hawks and the Aussie

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Speaker 3: NBL twenty years of age. He since now gone on

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Speaker 3: and won the MVP of the competition Most Outstanding Young Player,

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Speaker 3: Youth Player of the Year. A lot of people are

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Speaker 3: talking about Lockey Oldbrick as a future NBA player. He's

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Speaker 3: certainly got the star quality and I think we're going

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Speaker 3: to be looking back in future years and remembering the

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Speaker 3: year that Locky Oldbrick had playing here in New Zealand.

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Speaker 3: He's an absolute superstar. He is the key for the

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Speaker 3: Rams today along with Captain Taylor Britt point Guard, Most

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Speaker 3: Improved Player All Star five this year. He's had an

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Speaker 3: outstanding season. But they do have some very experienced players

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Speaker 3: that they are going up against. For the Tuatara who

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Speaker 3: have a star started starting five.

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Speaker 2: I want to get to them in a sec. But

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Speaker 2: Cal's Stadium, that's where we are this afternoon. How much

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Speaker 2: of an advantage is home advantage for the Rams and.

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Speaker 3: Of course the Sales NBL has gone back to home

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Speaker 3: finals this year, first time in over a decade. It

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Speaker 3: used to all be at one location and the fans

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Speaker 3: have certainly turned out. What we do know about Cal Stadium,

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Speaker 3: it's an old stadium, it's a lot of history, but

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Speaker 3: it's a cauldron, so it's going to be absolutely chock.

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Speaker 3: A block today filled with Rams fans will make a

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Speaker 3: lot of noise. And if you're looking for a six man,

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Speaker 3: a six player to get you up over the line,

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Speaker 3: you certainly wanted to be your home fans and I

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Speaker 3: think we'll get that today.

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Speaker 2: Let's go to the Tatara then You're right about their

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Speaker 2: starting five being all star. Cam Glidden, Corey Webster, Rubin Todangi,

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Speaker 2: Rob Low, Tom Verdanovitch. I can't believe that their team

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Speaker 2: is in favorite.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I think they go in with high credentials obviously.

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Speaker 3: I mean this team is loaded with experience. As you said,

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Speaker 3: Corey Webster, they win today. Corey Webster is a five

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Speaker 3: time Sales NBL champion. Amazingly, his fourth title was playing

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Speaker 3: for the Rams last year against the Tuatara, so he's

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Speaker 3: got the chance to turn things around. Rob Low is

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Speaker 3: an MVP, he's a Defensive Player of the Year two time.

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Speaker 3: He's a star in his own right. Cam Gliddon, of course,

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Speaker 3: the Australian Ruben Tangy has just signed another Ossie NBL contract,

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Speaker 3: And of course you know Tom Verdanovic is just an

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Speaker 3: absolute powerhouse. He brings the muscle. If those five players

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Speaker 3: turn up today and do what they do, this team

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Speaker 3: will go on and celebrate their first championship.

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Speaker 2: There's so much attacking weaponry in both sides, justin But

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Speaker 2: you know they often say, and it's a cliche, defense

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Speaker 2: wins championships, but what about grand finals? Does defense win

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Speaker 2: Grand finals? Or are we looking Are we looking at

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Speaker 2: at a one to ten to one oh eight game

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Speaker 2: or an eighty to seventy eight game here this afternoon?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think probably the ladder. These also are the

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Speaker 3: two best defensive teams in the competition, so they bring

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Speaker 3: that quality with them. I think the Ladder wouldn't surprise

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Speaker 3: me if it's if it's under one hundred that gets

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Speaker 3: the win here today. You can't tell, though, I mean

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Speaker 3: Tuatara step out and have a forty seven point second

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Speaker 3: quarter lock they did last time they were in christ Church,

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Speaker 3: all of a sudden it blows the lid off.

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Speaker 2: And if we zoom out from the Grand Final and

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Speaker 2: look at the Sales NBL season as a whole, how

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Speaker 2: would you rated in terms of, you know, the usual metrics,

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Speaker 2: fan engagement, exciting games, are competitive league, that sort of thing.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it keeps getting better and better, doesn't it. You know,

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Speaker 3: you talk about the competitiveness. We've just spoken about the

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Speaker 3: semi finals and how close they were. You think crowds,

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Speaker 3: You know, the Giants sold out just about every game,

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Speaker 3: the Rams sell out just about every game, The Saints

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Speaker 3: do the same, the Tatara. You know, Auckland's been a

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Speaker 3: real struggle ground for the Celles NBL for decades. I

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Speaker 3: think they sold out seven of their ten games, So

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Speaker 3: we're seeing an increase in the fandom up and down

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Speaker 3: the country. We know the attachment or the love affair

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Speaker 3: that kids have with basketball in particular. They're coming out

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Speaker 3: in big numbers and look when every game is live

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Speaker 3: on TV, it certainly helps. But I think the thing

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Speaker 3: that we will look back on in twenty twenty four

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Speaker 3: as being a real catalyst for that love and connection

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Speaker 3: the community has with this game and the Celles NBL

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Speaker 3: rapidly has obviously been a massive success, and I think

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Speaker 3: that's got a big part to play going forward.

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Speaker 2: All Right, who ages it this afternoon for you?

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Speaker 3: Rams? Start favorites. There's absolutely no question but if the

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Speaker 3: Tuatar will lose today in the forty three year history

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Speaker 3: of the league, they will be the first ever team

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Speaker 3: to lose three consecutive Grand finals. I can't see it happening.

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Speaker 3: I think the Aucklanders.

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Speaker 2: Get up great to chat, Justin have an awesome call

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Speaker 2: this afternoon.

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Speaker 3: Cheers. Thanks Justin Nelson.

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Speaker 2: There Skotsport basketball commentator Rams to Atara this afternoon.

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