Southland Sharks import Nick Kay is keen to right some wrongs.
The Sharks will take on the Super City Rangers on Monday night what is an important game for a couple of reasons.
A win over the Rangers should see them avoid the powerful Wellington Saints come semifinal time, but just as importantly a victory would provide the Sharks camp they can win on the road against another title contender.
Southland's last North Island trip to play the Rangers was just a couple of weeks ago when they were humbled 112-82.
Kay, who has been one of the Sharks best players through a challenging period, was looking forward to another shot at the Rangers on Monday night.
"We took an embarrassing loss up there and we took that real personal, so we have to come out and play hard and play the right way.
"We've only got a couple of weeks left so we want to go into the finals with a couple wins under the belt."
Southland ended a three-game mini losing streak with a 91-70 win over the Taranaki Mountain Airs in Invercargill on Friday night.
Kay was pleased to regain that winning feeling but knew the challenge of the Rangers on the road would provide a better indicator as to where they are at.
"Hopefully we can take a bit of that [Taranaki win] into the Rangers game and really set ourselves up going into the finals."
Getting a full strength team on the court has been a tricky challenge throughout the season for the Sharks.
Alex Pledger seems to be the biggest concern as he battles concussion problems.
The competition's leading rebounder returned for the Taranaki game after missing the game against Canterbury because of concussion.
He played 11 minutes in the first half against Taranaki but didn't play any part of the game in the second half.
Following the showdown with the Rangers the Sharks will return home to finish their round-robin campaign against Hawke's Bay in Invercargill on Sunday.
The NBL playoffs will be held in Tauranga on June 16 and 17.
Wellington, Southland, Super City, and Canterbury are already confirmed as the top four teams with the finishing order to be sorted in the remaining week of the round-robin series.
Meanwhile, Wellington won their 17th game in a row when they beat Hawke's Bay on Saturday night eclipsing Southland's NBL record of 16 games.
AT A GLANCE
What: National Basketball League
Who: Southland Sharks v Super City Rangers
Where: Trusts Arena, Waitakere
When: Monday, 7pm
Article and image courtesy of The Southland Times / Stuff.co.nz