The commentators knew it.
And the Canterbury Rams and the Auckland Tuatara probably knew it as well.
When veteran Tuatara centre Rob Loe fouled out early in the fourth quarter, the balance of the National Basketball League final tilted heavily in favour of the defending champions.
Loe had been influential.
The defensive player of the year had been swatting away shots and picking pockets. And he had nailed a couple of threes in a 17-point haul.
But with the former Tall Black on the bench, the Rams were able to take over and they pulled away to win 102-87 at Christchurch’s Cowles Stadium yesterday afternoon.
The going was much easier for the home team without Loe in the way.
But even before he departed, league MVP Lachlan Olbrich had been busy making a big impact.
The 20-year-old Australian had a monster game. He banged in 29 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and dished six assists.
KJ Buffen provided some quality support. He shook off an ankle complaint and drilled all four of his three-point attempts in a 21-point haul.
Taylor Britt (13 points, eight assists), MJ Walker (11 points) and Walter Brown (10 points, seven rebounds) made valuable contributions as well.
Tom Vodanovich top-scored for the Tuatara with 20 points and Corey Webster added 19 points and made eight assists.
But Olbrich was the star and he made his presence felt early.
He dominated the glass and crunched his way to the hoop for a series of early lay-ups.
Buffen stuck a couple of triples and Max Darling hit a three to beat the buzzer late in the quarter.
The Rams led 27-18 at the first break.
But Webster and Loe came up with a couple of nice defensive plays early in the second period to help wrestle some momentum from the Rams.
Charlie Dalton rattled in a couple of threes and Webster hit another as the Tuatara slashed the deficit further.
Loe popped in a dunk and landed a triple as well to help Auckland take a 51-50 lead into halftime.
But Loe picked up two more fouls in the third period and the Rams went on a 10-point run while he was resting on the pine.
The Tuatara rolled the dice in the fourth period and put Loe back out on the court.
But he got a hand on Darling as the Canterbury forward steamrolled towards the hoop.
The crowd exploded into celebration when Loe was called for the foul and trudged off.
And that was the game.
The scores
Canterbury Rams 102
Lachlan Olbrich 29, KJ Buffen 21
Auckland Tuatara 87
Thomas Vodanovich 20, Corey Webster 19
Quarter scores: 27-18, 50-51, 75-69.
