The Appliance Shed Harbour Heat face a sudden death quarter final on the road in Christchurch tomorrow confident they can push their season into another week and a semi final appointment with the table topping Waikato Pistons.

Tony Webster’s side is buoyed by a strong finish to the season, in particular the road trip last weekend that saw the Heat pick up a win over the second placed Giants before pushing the Saints to the wire in their final regular game of the season.

But if they are to topple the Cougars away from home, Webster knows he must have his big guns firing.

“This is what the season is all about, to a degree you now forget where you finished in the regular season and treat each game as a sudden death final, lose and you go home, win and the championship is still alive.

“The win over the Giants and the game against the Saints proved we can mix it with the best and indeed beat the best, even if we are on the road. To repeat that tomorrow night we must be ready from the tip off, start aggressive, stay in our patterns and shoot good percentages. There is no secret formula to winning post season basketball; it is up to the individuals and the team to perform at or close to their best. If we do that, we are more than a chance.”

The Heat will turn to inexperience in the form of Corey Webster to score heavily; the rookie point guard has had an impressive debut season in the NBL and must be a strong contender for rookie of the year honours. Webster will in turn look to bring in the irrepressible Mychal Green and centre Mike Bell who has consistently featured in player of the week discussion since his arrival midway through the season.

But this is a team that runs deep into the bench and will rely on output from up to 8 or 9 players with Daniel Munday, Daryl Cartwright, BJ Anthony and Prem Krishna all certain to get good court time and with it responsibility at both ends of the court.

The winner will go on to face the Pistons in another sudden death game, this time a semi final on Friday night in the Waikato.

The schedule for the play-offs will be as follows, all live on Sky Sport 3.

Play-off Rundown

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, June 16

Game One – 3rd v 6th (Saints v Hawks)

Wednesday, June 17

Game Two – 4th v 5th (Cougars v Heat)

Semifinals

Thursday, June 18

Winner of Game One v Second Place (Giants)

Friday, June 19
Winner of Game Two v First Place (Pistons)

Final Series

Tuesday, June 23

TBC – Venue to the lowest qualifier from the regular season

Thursday, June 25

TBC – Venue to the highest qualifier from the regular season

Friday, June 26 (if required)

TBC – Venue to the highest qualifier from the regular season