Defending champions Waikato have beaten last year's beaten finalists Nelson 92-73 on the opening night of the new National Basketball League season.
Import Eric Devendorf made an instant impact scoring 49 points for Waikato.
Meanwhile the Christchurch Cougars came back from 20 points down in the third quarter to beat Hawke's Bay 75-72 with the Cougars Paora Winitana top scoring with 27 points.