Basketball On The Internet.

JONNY Flynn was the story of the week so it should be no surprise he carried that on to be the story of the round, even if Ian Smythe is the story of its aftermath.

Flynn's impact on the Tigers was not reflected in his personal numbers but just by the inspiration he provided.

Have no doubt, he will be terrific in our league - for however long he is here - but he provided Melbourne with a drive previously absent or untapped perhaps.

So that's two on the trot, after adding Adelaide's scalp to Townsville's and overnight, Melbourne is back in the hunt.

Out of the race though is Townsville and CEO Ian Smythe fell on his sword today.

"Our 0-8 record is by any standards a poor start to the season and we have been unable to attract the numbers of members and fans to the games that we have achieved in the past," he said.

"This is disappointing, but professional sport and sports entertainment is a fickle industry and sometimes this occurs. Despite your best efforts you cannot always guarantee a win.

"I do believe that better times are ahead and we need to look to what is needed to achieve these outcomes."

Not sure it will mean anything short term though, the Crocs back in Auckland next round and unlikely to produce anything much better than they did this round against New Zealand.

Guess you have to be seen to be doing something though.

REVIEWS

Capitals v Lightning (W)

ADELAIDE continued to its sixth straight win 93-81 over Canberra, starting strongly and never really letting the home team get fully back into it.

Jo Hill turned back the clock early and finished with 22 points at 80 per cent while Suzy Batkovic also contributed 22, plus her huge keyway presence.

In fact, all the Lightning's past or present Olympians stepped up with Jenni Screen, Laura Hodges and Angela Marino all scoring 11 points, Screen and Marino also with nine assists apiece and Screen with a further six boards.

Guards Jess Bibby and Nicole Hunt again led with 20 and 16 points each for the Caps, Brigette Ardossi with a 15-point, 10-board double, Canberra missing its coach.

Tigers V 36ers (M)

MELBOURNE may have started out looking very Jonny Flynn-conscious - let's be straight here, expectations were abnormally high - but more than his direct impact was the indirect and very positive effect he had on his teammates.

Chris Goulding, Seth Scott, Adam Ballinger all had moments where they thrived and the further this went, the more humiliating it became for Adelaide.

The white flag was fluttering as the 36ers slipped 34 behind before the final 96-66 scoreline put an end to the visitors' misery and the Tigers' abundant joy.

Welcome back into the race.

Thunder v Waves (W)

LOGAN had dreamt of finals this year but if you are going to drop at home to West Coast - who dream of just winning now and again - you are experiencing an extended stay in Fantasy Land.

The Waves' 71-56 road win would have buoyed a team which showed so much PSST promise, Kiwi duo Lisa Wallbutton and Toni Edmondson certainly stepping it up.

Wallbutton had 19 points at 80 per cent, plus 11 boards while Edmondson had 18 points with six rebounds and five assists. It must have been their closer proximity to the motherland of New Zealand, being on the east coast, that inspired them so.

How good was this win? Deanna Smith, West Coast's best player, was still missing, injured.

Kings v Hawks (M)

BEFORE this game tipped off, I said Wollongong should be drug-tested if it loses to Sydney, after belting Perth by 33 in the previous round.

How incredibly naive and inexperienced of me. Actually, often the PERFECT time to play a team is when it is on a super high and believing itself a little invincible and just a little bit good.

So Sydney winning actually is not the big upset some might have you thinking. But 65-51?

Really?

That's Sydney's lowest winning score EVER and the first time it has held a club below 60 points, EVER.

Shane Heal - defensive specialist? Who would have guessed?

But stats facts do not lie and Wollongong's 19-11-11-10 quarter-by-quarter breakdown makes for amazing reading unless you're thinking it's a squash game, or volleyball.

Flames v Lightning (W)

SYDNEY broke through 94-78 over Adelaide to end a run of six straight losses this season and it was largely the April Sykes/Katie-Rae Ebzery story.

WNBA recruit Sykes had 26 points, including 5-of-7 threes, Ebzery with 20 points and seven assists, Sydney's 22-11 third period breaking the game open.

The usual suspects led Adelaide (Batgirl 23 points, Ang 19) and post-game Sydney coach Karen Dalton said finally, she could go eat a doughnut.

Not even sure what that means. No. Wait. I had it wrong. It was "finally getting off the doughnut" which I think may have been a reference to recent tender surgery?

Can't be sure.

Crocodiles v Breakers (M)

CEDRIC the Entertainer took his first steps toward claiming Player of the Week honors with 14 points and 11 assists as New Zealand inflicted Townsville's eighth straight loss 81-72.

Jackson showed off his court smarts and paved the way against a club which has lost its way.

Big Ben Allen did not play, out with a stomach bug. The tragedy is no-one even noticed until someone noted Mitch Norton may have grabbed more boards.

Larry Abney is proof that, unlike a decade ago, the NBL is no longer an old man's league.

Fire v Waves (W)

A FOUR-game losing streak tends to dent your finals aspirations so this win was a must for Townsville and the Fire, well, fired, beating the Waves 79-62.

West Coast had its moment at Logan so let's not ask too much.

Kayla Standish and Jess Foley both went off for 17 points and coach Chris Lucas was so pleased, he cracked it for a smile over dinner sometime on Monday night.

Taipans v Breakers (M)

AND with this 20-point, 12 assists double, Cedric guaranteed he would win PotW as New Zealand completed the Mango Mash with a comfortable 73-54 rout of Cairns.

A 26-14 first quarter set the tone and 27 per cent shooting by the Taipans did the rest.

If you take out Cam Tragardh's 7-of-14, the rest of the Taipans delivered at a quivering 20 per cent accuracy. That won't even beat Marlins' opponents, let alone the reigning champs.

Cairns was 3-of-19 from the three-point line.

Just. Stop. It. Please.

In his 300th NBL game, Dillon Boucher did not take a single shot attempt. Even Warrick Giddey was appalled.

Rangers v Boomers (W)

BULLEEN showed with its 27-18 second period, there might be life in the old Boomers yet.

Life? Yes.

But chemistry? No.

Tom Maher is going to have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to get Bulleen back to the finals, Jenna O'Hea leading Dandenong's 91-77 surge with a triple-double of 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Fellow London Olympian, Kathleen MacLeod, had a lazy 25 points at 56 per cent and seven assists, which ultimately meant Bulleen's 49-30 boards edge and Alice Kunek's 20-point, 10-rebound double jointly were undone by a 21-8 turnover disparity.

36ers v Wildcats (M)

PERTH, beaten by 33 in its previous game, versus Adelaide, rocked by 30 on Friday. The battle of the redeem teams, who, with their turnovers, shooting and decision-making, looked anything but title contenders.

But there you have it. At 63-63, the Sixers rode home on the back of CJ Massingale who had 15 of his 18 in a final period where Adelaide outscored Perth 24-8.

Perth hit 2-of-16 in the last quarter, missing its last nine shots.

And that's two weeks in a row the Wildcats have failed to crack 70 - the first time in their storied history that has occurred.

Been waiting for a while now for CJ to be given a genuine shot to take a genuine shot. It was a timely breakthrough because if Adelaide had lost and fallen to 3-4, the coaching staff might have been feeling the heat. 

Spirit v Capitals (W)

HEARD tell that Canberra "grinded out" the win in Bendigo, as opposed to having ground out the win.

WNBA recruit Kelsey Griffin has her papers to play next round but Bendigo could have used her this time as Kristi Harrower was fighting a lone battle, Canberra winning 59-54.

Carly Wilson led the Caps with 14 points at 50 per cent, Renae Camino's first run after injury at the PSST not greatly assisting the Spirit.

Gab Richards was quiet but this was the Caps' day, made especially pleasing because it was without coach Carrie Graf and star Lauren Jackson.

BEEF of the WEEK

OK, this "wear the white uniform on the road" thing, I know I've moaned about it before but come on, really?

Apart from the facts I've already pointed out - that when Wollongong or Perth come into your town, you cannot really tell much difference and now EVERY team wears white in your building instead of their colored uniform (which is what differentiates them all), I have a question.

Why is it even necessary?

Please send me a letter - most likely via carrier pigeon - if you are watching NBL games on a black-and-white TV.

For mine, that would be the ONLY reason we should need this stark contrast.

I see no reason why Cairns could not be in orange and Adelaide in blue when they meet, for example.

Or why Melbourne could not have their yellow home uniform being contrasted last Friday by the 36ers' blue, instead of their white.

It's not that I have anything against white. But EVERY visiting team wearing white in your venue is just the NBL/WNBL getting it terribly back-to-front.

Why does that surprise me?

Because with innovations like NBL.TV and All Star Games, you like to think your leagues are making progress.

And then they legislate something this archaic.

By the way, for those of you still needing the contrast on your black-and-white TV sets, can you please note it is illegal to tape games on Beta now.

The Big Winners/Losers

MELBOURNE was the NBL's big winner this week, having turned a 23-point first-round loss into a 30-point win. A 53-point turnaround? That's a win.

Townsville, of course, falling to 0-8, is now universally accepted as the week's big loser, with the aftermath of Smythe's departure just adding insult to injury.

SYDNEY smashing its doughnut against Adelaide is the WNBL's big winner this round and there's a whole swag of buns, cakes and confectioneries for the Flames to savor in coming weeks.

Logan is the big loser. If you cannot beat the team tipped to come ninth, at home in your own gym, while it is missing its best player, then all further correspondence is largely moot.

PS

ADELAIDE 36ers icon Brett Maher, who before the NBL season tipped-off said the 2012-13 line-up was the best Adelaide team since the 1998-99 champion, has amended that again to 1994-95-96-98 Lightning.