Hamilton Boys' High School, here we come.

Last year's National Basketball League finalists, Nelson and Waikato, will meet one round sooner this season after the Fico Finance Giants powered their way into Friday's semifinal with an 87-62 win over Southland last night.

After finishing the regular season in third place, Nelson took care of their quarterfinal business by sending the sixth-placed Sharks back to the ranks of the NBL's also-rans.

Their reward is a one-off semifinal against the Bartercard league's defending champions, who beat the Giants 2-0 in the title series last year.

While that mouthwatering match will be the focus now, the Giants knew Southland were going to throw everything at last night's game first.

"We had them here just last week and they got a good long look at us then," said Nelson's leading scorer, American forward Michael Harrison.

"It's hard to beat a team three times in a season because they tend to learn from each loss and do things a little differently for the next time."

What the Sharks tried this week was a zone defence from the tipoff. They dropped straight into a 2-3 formation that caused the Giants a few headaches – and contributed to seven turnovers in the first quarter.

"We saw down in Invercargill that they like to play some zone," Harrison said. "We expected more of it last Friday when they came here, so we had prepared and done some stuff against a zone in training. Probably what caused those turnovers was more about playoff jitters on our part."

The Sharks scored the game's first two baskets but Mika Vukona and Phill Jones – in NBL game No300 – each made three-pointers, and Harrison converted a basket and a free throw to give home team the lead three minutes in.

A 12-4 run, with Vukona and Harrison again tag-teaming as passer and finisher, gave the Giants a 21-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, and that margin ballooned in the second, won 22-13 by the Giants.

The third quarter started as the first had, with a Nelson turnover, but Vukona scored two quick baskets before suffering what might be a season-defining injury after two minutes.

He tweaked a knee at the defensive end of the court, worked his way to the offensive set, then folded to the floor, with Sharks centre Gareth Dawson landing on top of him.

Vukona managed to get to his feet and play another two possessions but it was clear that the injury was significant, and he left the game.

"Whatever's happening with Mika's knee is a concern because you don't replace an extraordinary athlete like Mika with just one player ... he does so many things on every part of the court, but we are getting contributions from our whole group of guys," Harrison said.

The initial prognosis was bleak but, post-game, Vukona was able to flex the knee – with some discomfort.

The Giants were already facing the post-season without swingman Darryl Jones (hamstring), and the loss of their leading rebounder and sparkplug as well would be damaging.

Not that it showed straight away last night. Within a couple of minutes of Vukona leaving the game, Nelson were out to a 25-point lead, the biggest of the game, when Jones scooped a ridiculous shot (made to look ridiculously easy) from behind the basket on the baseline.

The Giants briefly ran three point guards together and added another three points to their overall lead in a 25-22 third period.

The fourth quarter would have required a total Nelson meltdown to prevent the Giants progressing to the semifinals – instead, there was no more than a gentle thawing.

Southland's Rene Rougeau, an invisible man in the Trafalgar Centre last Friday, was a beast on the boards, and his long-armed defence meant life was never easy for Nelson's ballhandlers.

He and fellow American Mike Helms kept trying to take the direct route to the basket – a wise option when your team's conversion rate from the three-point line is three makes from 21 takes.

But Harrison, Tony Rampton and a smattering of Sam Dempster were steadfast on defence, with Giants team-mates Jones, Fitchett and Josh Bloxham harassing the normally poised Luke Martin into five turnovers.

The Sharks got the better of the last three minutes, throwing the starting five players at Nelson's bench, but an 18-14 final quarter was simply too little, too late for the first-time playoff participants.

"I believe we are ready for Waikato," Harrison said.

"I feel like we match up well with them.

"We're not satisfied with this win, or the next one. The single goal now is to bring a championship to Nelson."