The PACIFIC JEWELLERS SAINTS have been crowned the 2014 BARTERCARD NATIONAL BASKETBALL League for the eighth time, defeating the IMS PAYROLL HAWKS 85-69.

By Anendra Singh

With 31.7 seconds left on the clock, even perennial bully-boy Damien Ekenasio showed he was human after all.

The Pacific Jewellers Saints wrecking ball of a forward sympathetically patted the back of IMS Payroll Hawks captain Paora Winitana in the shooting lane as forward Brandon Bowman dropped shots from the free-throw line.

The hosts soon after deservedly went on to become the 2014 Bartercard National Basketball League (NBL) champions at the TSB Arena, Wellington, on Saturday night.

It was Groundhog Day for minor premier champions Hawks, who have not found much traction in the capital in the past few seasons, but the reality was the Shane Heal-coached Saints had earned the right to snip the net off the rim.

Teary-eyed Hawks players and coach Tab Baldwin had to endure more pain in the locker room in a post-grand final ritual as the victorious Wellingtonians, in the adjacent room, could be heard clinking beer bottles, wolfing in delight and erupting into celebratory choruses.

The two compact groups of Hawke's Bay fans on either side of the arena had played their part and even given their players a standing ovation, but it will take a lot more to soothe that emotional pain for days, weeks or even months.

It was the Lindsay Tait-captained Saints' eighth NBL crown, while the Hawks will have to come to terms with another winter of discontent before they even start contemplating adding another title to their maiden one in 2006.

American import power forward Dustin Scott, who played his heart out this season, cut a forlorn figure on a seat a few minutes before the final hooter.

Not far from him sat a despondent Baldwin, as they robotically acknowledged people commiserating.

"We didn't want to lose the championship. Nobody does, because we worked really hard this season but, unfortunately, we came up short," Scott said, vowing to work twice as hard next year.

Guard Corey Webster showed why he's New Zealand's best player, although the Hawks gave him too much of a look-in at the rims.

The New Zealand Breaker scored 22 points, some of them under duress from double markers, as Tait controlled the floor to add 19 points.

Baldwin made changes, injecting bench small forward Anamata Haku to successfully keep a leash on Webster but other Saints players, imports Brandon Bowman (20 points, seven rebounds) and Davis Bryan (17 rebounds), stepped up.

"He might have had one open look but he made some very tough shots so I have to give some credit to him and also my teammates for putting a hell of a defence on him," Scott said of Webster, lamenting their inability to snaffle nine offensive rebounds in the first half.

The 29-year-old is excited about coming back next year, adding the franchise was welcoming him back and he would certainly do that.

The Hawks started the first half lethargically, letting the Saints claim cheap rebounds or failing to put their arms up in the faces of their sharp shooters.

Heal must take credit for timely injecting the likes of Ekenasio to try to ruffle the Hawks' feathers.

The Hawks played catch-up each quarter and only led for about two minutes in the entire game.

The don't-argue final quarter 23-10 from the Saints was an anticlimax.

The individual foul count, 17-10, favoured the hosts.

Baldwin said through summer they would look at how to improve. "Right now it's a blank page but it certainly is an off-season task."

He felt Bartlett and point guard Jarrod Kenny should make the equation of Tall Black coach Nenad Vucinic.

"They are the kind of guys who you can build team chemistry around.

"They are real Kiwi-type players who have no problems submitting their egos to the welfare of their teams," he said.

Baldwin saluted the army of Bay fans who backed the Hawks at the weekend.

"Hawke's Bay's known for having great fans. We're very blessed to have that kind of passion behind our team and the players have talked about that.

"All of that allows our teams to exist and to prosper," he said, proud his men came agonisingly close to rewarding their faithful for that undying loyalty.

It was the fifth time the Hawks and Saints had played in the playoffs, with the latter winning all.

In 2011, Tait and Webster helped overwhelm the Hawks 106-97 in the grand final.

- HAWKES BAY TODAY