Canterbury Rams head coach Dave Harrison departed Blenheim happy on all counts after his team beat the Fico Finance Nelson Giants 76-72 in the final of the National Basketball League pre-season match on Saturday.

Not only did the result go his side's way, but he left town delighted with the way they went about achieving it and more than keen to return next year, having thoroughly enjoyed the venue and a healthy crowd at Marlborough Lines Stadium.

After trailing by two at the end of a very tight and defence-dominated first half, the key period for the Rams came as they won the third quarter 21-14 going into the final stanza.

Led throughout by outstanding American import Jamal Boykin, the Giants came hard in search of victory over the final 10 minutes, but it was not enough.

The Canterbury franchise, guided at either end of the floor by their own American imports Glenn Dandridge and Matt Rogers, were cool under pressure as they closed out the win, getting the job done at the foul line with Nelson forced to foul. Thanks to that, and a couple of other reasons, Harrison wore a big smile after the match.

"For us it was less about the result and more about some of the things we've been working on, and we were able to execute them against a perennial contender in the Nelson Giants. I know they were short-handed, but we knew they were going to give us a tough game and, for us as a young team, [it was about] being able to measure ourselves against them. Some of our execution was really satisfying. We made some improvements from last week, so I'm really happy with that."

"It's a great venue and it's exciting to see a great crowd here. To me this makes massive sense every pre-season for us to be able to get here . . . we'll definitely be back."

Dandridge was very much the offensive go-to man for the Rams, dropping five threes on his way to a team-high 27 points, while skipper Jeremy Kench chipped in with a valuable 14 and fellow foundation member Ethan Rusbatch had 11. Towering centre Rogers was the key figure in a Canterbury defence which got better as the match wore on.

Harrison was satisfied with how the adjustments they made at the major break were implemented in the second half, particularly without the ball, and said Rogers was a key figure behind that.

"We did a better job in the second half of defending the way we wanted. Matt Rogers was a real defensive presence, I think he took two or three charges in that second half and blocked some shots. To have that at the back of what we're doing defensively enable us to get a lot more aggressive on the ball."

Boykin's contribution was the undoubted bright spot in a Giants performance that was not quite on the mark, especially at the offensive end. The 2.03m power-forward led all scorers with an impresssive 36-point haul and was also a significant presence on defence.

Former Marlborough guard Josh Bloxham and Sam Dempster both had seven points apiece, the later rebounding strongly at both ends of the floor and the Giants next best behind Boykin. Veteran long-range expert Phill Jones had a quiet night, limited to just four points.

Canterbury open their NBL campaign with a home match against old-rivals the Wellington Saints at Cowles Stadium in Christchurch on Sunday, while the Giants get underway by hosting the same team at Saxton Stadium on Friday night. After a three-year Rams hiatus from the league, Harrison said they could not wait for the season to start proper.

"We are very excited and we're just so glad to be back in the league. As far as how we are going to go, we're just going to compete every game and make teams work hard and hopefully Cowles becomes a place teams don't want to come to. Every game we want to get better and that's what we've been able to do in the pre-season."

The Marlborough Express