It is the most famous shot in the Otago Nuggets' history, and 20 years on Brent Matehaere and Todd Marshall recall Jerome Fitchett's buzzer-beater in the quarterfinal against the Nelson Giants like it was yesterday. Basketball writer Adrian Seconi caught up with the pair.
Catch me if you can.
American Jerome Fitchett made his name as an outstanding rebounder and reliable scorer but also showed a devastating turn of pace to avoid the clutches of team-mate Brent Matehaere seconds after landing the Nuggets' sweetest three-pointer.
Then a fresh-faced 21-year-old, Matehaere was so excited to see Fitchett's shot drop through the hoop he set off towards his team-mate for a big old man hug.
"He was pretty quick so I was trying to catch him," Matehaere joked.
"All I remember is Jerome hitting the buzzer-beater and basically running out of the stadium with Brent chasing him," Todd Marshall chipped in.
Time-out of the year?
While Fitchett got a lot of the credit for the Nuggets' dramatic 78-77 quarterfinal win against the Nelson Giants, coach Park Beede received his share of accolades. He called a time-out with seven seconds remaining and his side trailing 77-75.
The league's yearbook described it as the intervention of the year. But that is not quite how Matehaere remembers it.
The plan was to get the ball to Leonard King or Euan Lockhart and shoot a two-pointer to send the game into overtime.
"Whatever was said in the time-out did not happen out on the floor," Matehaere said.
"I inbounded the ball to Euan who took it up the court and passed. Basically, Jerome just caught the ball, was open on the three-point line and just launched it."
Sweet relief
"I remember the last minute of that match really well," Matehaere said.
"I got fouled and had to shoot ... back in those days you had to hit the first to get the second and I missed with the scores tied. They came down and scored, which put them two points up.
"It was a wonderful feeling when Jerome hit that shot."
Matehaere was not alone in his relief. The entire squad would have been pretty flat had the Nuggets not reached the semifinals.
With a talented line-up, Otago was expected to do well. But a run of six consecutive losses in the second half of the season almost cost the team a shot at the playoffs.
"The wheels started falling off and people started getting at each other," Matehaere said.
"We used to say we had a lot of talented players on the court but only one ball."
Playoff ecstasy
With Fitchett's shot the Otago Nuggets secured their first semifinal appearance in just their second year in the National Basketball League.
Back then the shorts were shorter, the Nuggets had a star-studded line-up and basketball was the only show in town. The Nuggets used to attract crowds of up to 3000 and the "Freezerdome" was the place to be.
"Basketball was at a different level," Marshall said.
"They even had a 'Nugometer' in the stadium and lights would flash depending on how noisy the crowd was. The place was packed and it was during the days when it was the Rheineck League and there was really good sponsorship.
We had guys like Jerome, who could really wind up the crowd, and Glen Denham, the New Zealand captain, and Euan Lockhart. That team was as good on paper as some of the top teams today."
The Nuggets lost the semifinal 104-99 to the Hutt Valley Lakers but it was certainly a season to remember.
