Basketball On The Internet.

MOST of us would like to believe if we were confronted with a life-or-death situation, we'd react in a way we could later be proud of, but Breakers coach Dean Vickerman knows it for a fact.

With no thought for their personal safety, Vickers and two of his brothers-in-law waded into a raging flood in Samoa last Saturday to help rescue stricken passengers in a bus accident that claimed the lives of two children.

The bus in front of the one in which Vickerman and his extended family were travelling, rolled while endeavoring to negotiate a flooded ford.

It left close to 40 people fighting for their lives as the bus rapidly filled with water, sparking Dean into action.

"Me and my two brothers-in-law jumped straight out of the bus and bowled down to see what we could do," Vickerman told The New Zealand Herald.

"We were just trying to drag out as many people out as we could."

Several passengers were washed straight out into the nearby sea, others clinging together before rescuers could pluck them out individually.

"As you jump into the water there is that kind of thing in your mind about not being that guy who rescues someone else but loses their own life," Vickerman said.

"But once you got into it and worked out the current you started to feel like the worst thing that could happen was you'd get dragged out a little bit further.

"The rain was torrential and the water picked up the front of the bus and threw it into the river."

The Vickermans were returning from a family reunion at the tiny village of Tufutafoe on the island of Savai'i when the incident occurred. Two girls, aged 12 and five, drowned in the accident.

Two Australian backpackers were among the people rescued by Vickerman, Ruth O'Leary, 21 of Melbourne, leaving no doubt she owed her life to New Zealand's new NBL head coach.

She said the Vickermans took her and her friend to the police and the hospital, and then helped them find accommodation for the night.

Deano, naturally has played it down which only goes to show just how much of a hero he is.

WHAT'S a good basketball game without a bit of controversy?

Last night it abounded at Knox as Mount Gambier Pioneers beat the Raiders 77-75 in a huge SEABL fixture.

The controversy stemmed from the fact most believed the winning shot - by Ben Allen, proving again good things will come to those who wait - was after the siren.

Not the refs though, who called it a Pioneers win and scooted off the court.

The SEABL announced today it would review the conclusion of the game and issue a statement on Monday. There's not a lot they can do though, in reality.

Referee error - if it was (and I think it was) - is referee error. You can't go back and replay every wrong foul call or the two three-pointers that were counted with players toeing the arc, for example.

Here's the vision so you can make up your own mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uxLtPiAtbE&feature=youtu.be but Knox looked definitely hard done by. Only by a millisecond, but that's all it takes.

THE Under-16 Nationals wound up tonight in Adelaide with New South Wales the toast of the boys and Victoria Metro adding another crown to the state's treasure chest in the girls.

Vic Metro beat SA Metro 83-73 in the girls final with Maddison Rocci leading all scorers with 28 points and Anneli Maley - daughter of 1994 NBL championship winner and two-state star Paul - hauling down 21 rebounds.

SA Country came third, beating NSW Metro 82-66, Vic Country beat NSW Country 61-42 for fifth, Western Australia Metro knocked off New Zealand 71-68 for seventh, Tasmania beat Queensland North 70-62 for ninth and Qld South put away WA Country 64-47 for 11th.

In the boys, SA Metro beat the ACT 90-62 to come 11th - great job there to the masterminds in charge of identifying and developing local talent, but let's not ask any questions about that cause you just know Basketball SA is a national pacesetter - and SA Country finished ninth, beating Tasmania 61-56.

Queensland North beat WA Metro 79-57 to claim seventh, New Zealand finished fifth beating Vic Country 73-64 in the playoff, and Vic Metro iced Queensland South 88-60 for third.

NSW Metro and NSW Country fought out the final, which says an abundance about that state's work on the boys' side.

Country was 18 points in the hole at halftime but a 19-5 third period turned the game on its ear.

Still, it was Country which tied it at 57-57 to send the game into overtime where the boys from the wilds of NSW prevailed 65-61.

You just have to love basketball.

MATTY Dellavedova didn't do his NBA chances any harm at all today, leading the Cleveland Cavs' Las Vegas summer league team to a 70-62 win over the LA Lakers.

Delly saw 18 minutes of action and was there at the end, organising his team to victory.

Chris Goulding received his international clearance and has been added to the Cavaliers' summer league roster, though he didn't see any action today.

Jamahl Mosley, a former teammate of Melbourne Tigers coach Chris Anstey at Victoria Titans, is coaching the Cavs' team.

Cory Joseph had 19 points, including the winning jumpshot for San Antonio as it beat Charlotte 69-68, Aussie Aron Baynes with a Spurs-high eight rebounds.