AUCKLAND (NBL) - Former Waikato guard Hayden Allen helped Appliance Shed Harbour Heat put some space between them and the bottom of the National Basketball  League table with a dour 77-67 road win over Waikato Pistons.

Allen, who won an NBL title with the Waikato Titans in 2002, led the Heat with 17 points (5/18 FG, 1/8 3pt, 6/7 FT) as they completed a regular season sweep of their southern rivals. Harbour had already defeated the Pistons 91-75 at home last month.

Waikato led by two points after the opening quarter, but their guests seized the initiative with a 30-19 second period and held off the hometown hallenge by holding the Pistons to just six points down the home straight.

Forward Benny Hill matched Allen's output for Waikato, who slumped to 2-9 for the season and face the Otago/Canterbury road trip next week.

Harbour (3-9) leapfrogged over Waikato with the win and travel to NZCT Taranaki Mountain Airs next Friday.
 
National Basketball League

Appliance Shed Harbour Heat 77 (Hayden Allen 17, Troy McLean 13, Mike Homik 13, Jarrod Kenny 10)
Waikato Pistons 67 (Ben Hill 17, Kit Rhymer 12, Blake Truslove 12)

Basketball New Zealand

ARG - Libertad grab lead

BUENOS AIRES (Liga Nacional) - Libertad cruised to a relatively straightforward 80-72 victory over Gimnasia y Esgrima from Comodoro in the first leg of the Liga Nacional semi-final. Ryan Carroll and Roberto Lopez were

BRA - Trio off to winning

RIO DE JANEIRO (Campeonato Nacional) - Telemar, Rio Claro and Franca all won their first games of the Campeonato Nacional play-offs. Telemar beat Uniberso/BRB 95-88 with Arnaldinho netting 21 points including

IRI - Hopes bounce off the

AMMAN (WABA U18) - Iran's U18 national team was outclassed by Yemeni juniors 77-54 on the second day of West Asia Championship, underway in Jordan. Iran was experiencing its second loss in a row

FRA - Gravelines edge ahead

GRAVELINES (Pro A) - Gravelines-Dunkerque edged Game One in their Pro A play-off against Dijon after stealing an 86-85 win in overtime. Fabrice Courcier's men were trailing by 11 points five minutes before the end of the contest but managed to force the game

USA - Spurs claw their way back

SAN ANTONIO (NBA) - With their reign as NBA champions on the line, the San Antonio Spurs finally got the break they needed as they held on for a season-saving 98-97 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game Five of the Western Conference semi-finals.  Tim Duncan was again unstoppable with 36 points and 12 rebounds for the top-seeded Spurs, who still face a 3-2 deficit in the series