The Fast Break Report took a bit of a holiday over Christmas, while the Breakers kept on battling away. We know that you’ve gotta give the people what they want, so here’s a recap of the stuff that happened while you were at the beach getting sunburned.

NZ Breakers 96-84 Townsville Crocs

First up was a good professional outing on the North Shore against the Crocs. The opening half was pretty pants, with the long-range threat of Mitch Norton and Clint Steindl pegging them back. The Crocs lead by as much as 12 points, and despite a fight back it was still a 6 point deficit at the end.

But in the second half, after a couple defensive tweaks, it all changed. The key guys stepped up and the Breakers rolled towards what ended up a comfortable win. They outscored the visitors by 52-34 in the second half.

Corey Webster top scored with 21 shooting 7-15. Cedric Jackson had a rough night from the field (0-5 from 3pt to go with his 6 turnovers) though he was able to be effective in different ways, putting up 13p/6r/7a/4s. Plus 10 & 5 from Pledger, 12 & 5 from Ibekwe, a thrilling 19 points (5-6 from 3pt) from Rhys Carter and an efficient & impressive 8p/7r/3a/4s game from Mika Vukona.

Match MVP Points

Rhys Carter – 3

Corey Webster – 2

Mika Vukona – 1

Cairns Taipans 83-59 NZ Breakers

The less said about this travesty the better. Up against a fellow likely-playoff team, the Breakers had one of those games that we’ve seen on a couple of occasions where they simply cannot shoot. The three ball is a big weapon for them when things are going well, but it can also be an achilles heel. Like when they shoot 0-17 form deep as they did here.

Corey Webster was the biggest culprit. He missed all 5 of his on a night when he logged 1-13 from the field for 4 measly points. Cedric missed 4 trebles for 3-16 (8p/6r/4a/5s), and Abercrombie and Carter each missed 3. Not once did the Breakers manage 20 points in a quarter and in the fourth they had a mere 7. The bets were in by then anyway, the Breakers lost the lead for good with 5:59 to play in the first quarter.

The lone bright spark was a great game from Mika Vukona, a guy you can always trust to play 100% regardless of the score – just look at last season for all the evidence you need. He had 18 points with 6 rebounds. Alex Pledger also had 6 & 5 while Tai Wesley did some nice things too: a shadow of things to come…

Match MVP Points

Mika Vukona – 3

Tai Wesley – 2

Alex Pledger – 1

Sydney Kings 85-97 NZ Breakers

Then as if that never happened, the Breakers went and won in Sydney against the Kings. And they did it the hard way too, as key players picked up injuries.

Tai Wesley had his best game of the season, finding a bucket-full of assertiveness in the paint and some silk in his jump shot, hitting 23 points off 11-13 from the field. Oh, and add a cheeky 8 boards and 2 blocks to that list. Rhys Carter, Cedric Jackson and Mika Vukona all missed significant time with injuries picked up in the game – Carter dislocated a finger with the dislocation breaking the skin. Eww. He spent the night in hospital though he still played the next game.

The damage was done early however. A 32 point opening quarter included Tom Abercrombie hitting three deep bombs in the space of a minute before Uncle Kenny came in for a few dunks. Sydney did what they could to close the gap but they never really got close. Ibekwe had 17p/5r/2a while Abercrombie had 18 points on only 7 shots and 5 boards. TA passed CJ Bruton for second on the All Time Breakers scoring list in the process, now trailing only the legendary Kirk Penney.

Match MVP Points

Tai Wesley – 3

Tom Abercrombie – 2

Ekene Ibekwe – 1

Duane Bailey and Tai Wesley *(NZ Breakers on Instagram)*

Stocks:

Movin’ On Up Like Curtis Mayfield – Tai Wesley, the ANBL Player of the Week for Round 12! Huh!? Wuh!? Wha!? Yeah, no kidding. He’s clearly settled in now as he scored his 23 against Sydney in under 23 minutes to give him the boost for this little accolade. It’s the third time a Breakers player has won this award after Cedric Jackson and Corey Webster in previous rounds. Vickerman clearly drew up a plan to attack in close with Wesley and it worked a charm. After teasing this potential in a couple of early games, this was the first time that he’s really dominated and it was lovely to see.

Goin’ Down Slow Like Howlin’ Wolf – The haters. All aboard the Breakers bandwagon, folks.