Basketball: Breakers feeling confident after win

Dean Vickerman
Dean Vickerman
As pleasing as their performance against Adelaide was, one question would have pestered the Breakers coaches as they watched the big win.

Why did the defending champions wait until their playoff lives were on the line to produce such an outstanding display across the Tasman?

The 22-point victory that saved the Breakers' season on Wednesday was just their fourth road success of the campaign and their first against an opponent with a winning record.

Those struggles are a significant reason why the Breakers are facing such a scrap to reach to the playoffs, potentially still needing three wins from a three-game stretch run that starts against Cairns at the NSEC on Sunday.

But after the Breakers recorded the comprehensive victory required to claim the season series over Adelaide, earning the tie-break should the sides finish the regular season level, coach Dean Vickerman will be justified in believing the commanding road win was better to arrive late than never.

Heading into the encounter with a scoring average of 78.9 points away from home, the Breakers broke the century mark for the first time this season. After too often in Australia appearing sluggish on offence and lacking fluidity with the ball, Vickerman's men showed the right balance between urgency and patience when they earned opportunities.

They shot the ball brilliantly (52 per cent), received season-high outputs from two players (Cedric Jackson and Alex Pledger), enjoyed the return to form of another (Corey Webster) and, crucially, closed out the game when Adelaide threatened a late charge.

That control in the clutch is one factor that has been missing away from home this season and assistant coach Paul Henare called it a confidence-boosting feather in the cap.

"Adelaide were always going to throw everything at us late in the game," Henare said. "To be able to bounce back and finish off well, that's been an area where we've struggled over the last month - really closing out games strong.

"That's another sign that we're growing in confidence and really learning from past mistakes."

When combined with the 59 points shared by Jackson and Webster, it all added to an unbeatable aura the club always carried through their championship campaigns.

The Breakers are still outsiders to earn a shot to add a fifth title to their collection - they sit a game behind Adelaide and must hope the 36ers stumble somewhere over the next week. But if the champs reach the playoffs riding a five-game winning streak and at last playing well away from Auckland, the rest of the competition will be on notice.

"We're pretty confident," Henare said. "That win, by getting the split, was effectively getting two wins -- it was a huge win in more ways than one. So now we just have to trust our process and we know now that it's in our hands. If we can keep playing good basketball, finish off strong and keep collecting those wins, all the pressure goes back on Adelaide."

- Kris Shannon

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