The Otago Nuggets rounded out their season as expected, with a huge loss to the Waikato Pistons in Hamilton on Saturday night.
The Pistons outclassed the Nuggets 93-61 in a painfully one-sided encounter between, arguably, the best team in the league and, no argument, the worst team in the league.
"They just had too many guns," Nuggets coach Alf Arlidge acknowledged.
"Their guard line-up of [Jerry] Smith, [Jason] Crowe and [Hayden] Allen pressed us on defence and we struggled with that. From memory we had about 24 or 25 turnovers.
"They are just really, really difficult to play. They put you under a lot of pressure and fundamentally they are very good and we just made too many mistakes."
The Nuggets (2-14) showed some improvement from last season, when the franchise lost all 18 games. They broke a 33-game losing-streak in the league with a 74-67 win against the Manawatu Jets in Dunedin in May and scored a second win in June against the Taranaki Mountain Airs.
That said, the Nuggets finished at the bottom of the competition table for the sixth time in seven years - a dubious achievement made worse by the fact the franchise sat the 2009 season out for financial reasons.
Tall Black Craig Bradshaw battled hard for the Nuggets. He was double-teamed virtually every time he touched the ball and import Scott O'Gallagher also drew extra defence. The pair topped-scored for the Nuggets with 15 points apiece.
Mark Morrison was the next best with 13 points.
It was the Pistons' 11th consecutive win and a nice way for experienced forward Ray Cameron to celebrate his 100th appearance in the NBL.
The 29-year-old role player scored five points and made three assists in 16 minutes. But the night belonged to Alex Pledger. The 2.13m Tall Blacks centre has been the dominant player in the league this season.
In a little over 20 minutes, Pledger amassed 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Pledger had ample support from what is an all-star cast.
Crowe strengthened his grip on the assists title with nine assists and 11 points. Fellow import Smith slotted 16 points and both Allen and BJ Anthony also reached double figures.
The win means the Pistons (13-3) finished the regular season in second place behind the Wellington Saints. Both gain direct entry into the semifinals.
The Manawatu Jets secured fifth place with a 87-67 win against the Southland Sharks in Palmerston North and will play the Nelson Giants in one quarterfinal. The third-placed Hawkes Bay Hawks will host Southland in the other quarterfinal.
