Basketball On The Internet.

ON a day even Basketball Australia raised the spectre of gambling on national level basketball games, it's interesting Melbourne United didn't choose to put its best foot forward against New Zealand.

In a fixture with profound playoff implications, United chose to leave Chris Goulding, Daniel Kickert and Hakim Warrick home in Melbourne, sending a skeleton fleet to battle the Breakers' armada.

The 100-63 Breakers' win put additional pressure on the 36ers to beat Illawarra in Wollongong to reach the final four and Adelaide subsequently cracked under that strain, losing 95-106.

That locked the Final Four in as Melbourne, Perth, Illawarra and New Zealand.

It means United will not only host the Breakers tomorrow but also in a best-of-three semi final from Thursday.

Don't be surprised though if tomorrow, the Breakers choose to rest Corey Webster, and/or Tom Abercrombie, Mika Vukona or whoever else they deem needs the break.

Now again, I'm not the least bit sympathetic to Adelaide. The 36ers had to beat New Zealand a week and a half ago, and didn't do it. Or Townsville when they turned the ball over and gave up a match-winning dunk. Or perhaps NOT be the only club to drop a home game to Cairns.

So Melbourne perhaps manipulating a result which draws a particular opponent into the four and as their semi final opponent, isn't what bothers me.

BREAK:  Stephen Holt, one of United's recognised players, gets his jumper off against NZ. 

It's the fact fans are being taken for a ride. And so too those who choose to gamble on the games. And also those (few) who care to protect the integrity of the game from manipulation.

It seems it's always the innocents who take the whack.

Now remember, back when the games dropped from 48-minute contests to 40-minute games, no NBL club dropped its ticket prices down to acknowledge the fans would be getting less bang for their entertainment buck. 

No-one paying for a season-ticket and arriving to see the marquee players missing should be feeling too thrilled about that.

Fans buying tickets in good faith, punters wanting to invest their hard-earnt and again, those of us who don't enjoy watching our game's integrity compromised, have a right to expect seeing teams put on their best.

It's a 28-game season for crying out loud. Not 82. How much rest is needed?

The NBL, as a controlling body, needs to make some sort of definitive ruling on player "resting" at the end of the regular season. Pretty sure a few Kings fans may have been going expecting to see Nathan Jawai, for example.

I'm not blaming Perth - which only hurt its own chances of finishing first by leaving four starters out against the Kings - or Melbourne, for doing something which under our current rules is quite legal.

The morality of it is another issue.

So does this mean we've "grown up" as a sport? Morals are irrelevant now?

Perhaps that's the case, right up until the sport gets a black eye when someone is found out betting on games and manipulating a result.

"BASKETBALL Australia has been made aware of media reports of alleged inappropriate betting on basketball games," is how the three paragraph statement appeared yesterday.

"Basketball Australia has a well-established policy against betting within our sport and are gravely concerned by these reports. We are currently looking into the matter.

"No further comment will be made at this time."

Wow.

OK. What's this about?

I haven't seen any "media reports". Can BA please point us in the direction of these "reports" because it's obviously got their knickers into a severe twist.

On Wednesday here at B.O.T.I. in my "Question Time" I posed the (admittedly less-than-completely-innocent) question: "Is everyone aware it's not legal to place bets on games your team might be playing in?"

SEN Breakfast Radio apparently followed up on Friday but still only as speculation.

Judging by BA's pre-emptive strike, I'm guessing where's there's smoke, there's also some smouldering betting stubs?

Stay tuned.

Tonight: TOWNSVILLE hosts Sydney in its last game of the season. Let's hope it's hot and steamy enough for Joe Connelly to put that security-towel to good use. (And that Derek Rucker does the Fox call so he can get a close up look at the squad he should be coaching next season.) Crocs to win.

Last night: NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 100 (Ch Jackson 18, Ce Jackson, Webster 17, Abercrombie 14, Wesley 10; Ch Jackson 11 rebs; Ce Jackson, Wesley 5 assts) d MELBOURNE UNITED 63 (Adnam 16, Patton 9, Hill 8; Holt 6 rebs; 4 with 2 assts) at North Shore Events Centre. ILLAWARRA HAWKS 106 (Ogilvy 17, Lisch 16, Weeks, Martin 14, Penney 13, White 11; Ogilvy 11 rebs; Martin 9 assts) d ADELAIDE 36ERS 95 (Johnson 20, Randle 15, Petrie, Ere 12, Creek 11; Johnson 8 rebs; Gibson 4 assts) at The Sandpit, WIN Entertainment Centre.