Basketball: Breakers hand defeat to Wildcats

If the Breakers do meet Perth in next month's semifinals, the Kiwi club will take a great deal of confidence into that clash.

The Breakers tonight dealt the defending champions a third straight defeat this season, riding a red-hot offence at the NSEC to further ensconce themselves in the top two of the Australian NBL.

Perth (13-10) now trail the Breakers (18-6) by four games in the loss column, meaning only a dramatic reversal of results in the final three weeks of the regular season will see the Wildcats overtake their fierce foes.

The Breakers, meanwhile, face a battle against Cairns (17-6) to win top spot and avoid a potential match-up with Perth in the semifinals but, judging by recent evidence, such an outcome would be far from fatal to their championship chances.

Having handed Perth an emphatic home defeat to open the campaign, the Breakers have now taken two tough games at home.

The first, last month, was typically tight and low-scoring, but tonight brought a fast and fluid encounter that threatened to turn into a shootout.

The Breakers, given the accuracy with which they were shooting, were more than content with that prospect. The home side made 47 per cent of their efforts from the floor and 38 per cent from beyond the arc, establishing a pace that was hard to match.

Corey Webster set that tone with 17 first-half points before being held scoreless in the second, while Tom Abercrombie grabbed 16 and Ekene Ibekwe filled in for the injured Alex Pledger with 12 points and eight boards, helping the Breakers rebound from last week's loss to Sydney.

The Kiwi club would have been thrilled with how that task began, getting to the hoop with ease, shooting at better than 60 per cent and racking up 32 points in the opening quarter. But they also leaked 26 at the other end and, coming a week after ceding 100 for the first time in a year, the onus was on the defence to tighten the screws.

That goal appeared to be achieved in the second as the Breakers quickly grew their lead to double digits, but Perth came roaring back into the contest with a 10-0 run.

Webster, though, soon made clear his intention to bust open the game. The guard was involved in all facets as his side established a 13-point halftime lead, hustling for steals, scoring nine straight points and even blocking shots.

The sole concern for the Breakers in the second spell was a disparity in the rebounding count - generally pivotal against Perth - but that disparity didn't seem to be doing too much damage as the home side remained in charge.

Though Perth briefly reduced the deficit to five in the third quarter, the Breakers bounced back to lead by 10 heading to the fourth, further boosting that advantage with yet more success from deep.

Before long, the scoreline resembled a blowout, leaving the Breakers to set their sights on the minor premiership.

Breakers 90 (Webster 17, Abercrombie 16, Ibekwe 12), Wildcats 79 (Daniels 20, Martin 19, Jervis 12). HT: 54-41.

 

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