Fast Break Report #23: They May Be Free, But They Can Cost You A Season
Cairns Taipans 90-87 NZ Breakers
They call them FREE THROWS for a reason, they’re not supposed to be this hard. You’re not supposed to miss 17 of your 30 attempts, you’re not supposed to out-shoot, out-rebound and out-assist your opponents and then still lose anyway.
Seventeen points left at the line by the Breakers’ pathetic attempts and they lost the game by three. There were other things that went right and wrong and no game is easily definable by a single aspect of it… but it’s pretty clear where this game was spoiled. Unfortunately what had been an annoying quirk and then grew into a disappointing trend has now become a full-blown Achilles Heel.
As it lies now, the Breakers have lost six in a row and now own a losing record of 11-12. They’re two and a half games back on the Adelaide 36ers and that’s with only five more to play themselves. Lose two of those from here and it’s all over. Win four and it may not be enough. If there’s a final wind for the defending champs’ sails then it had better be here soon.
Once again it was a game in which the Breakers held big leads and late. This may have been a grand final rematch of last year but both teams were playing to stay in the playoff hunt. Cairns would have been eliminated with a loss, something you may not have guessed by a rubbish first quarter, where they shot only 5 of 18. Alex Pledger, meanwhile, had himself a fine time of it, starting in place of Catfish Jackson and bringing the business with an early block and six quick points.
Cedric was looking keyed in too, though Corey Webster didn’t have the radar going. Not at all, he didn’t make a field goal until the second quarter and would finish 3 of 13 from the field. Once again largely the victim of some heated coverage thanks to the lack of respect that opposition teams (rightly) give to his teammates as shooters. At least he can score FTs though.
The Breakers were up 22-11 on the verge of quarter time. Then this happened. Torrey Craig, bloody hell. Given the outcome you can argue this was a pivotal moment, though to be honest it was deep into the fourth when it actually felt like the Breaks were gonna lose. Until then it was only our own paranoia stemming from this damn losing streak.
Having said that, the second Q was definitely for the Taipans, who got rolling before a loud crowd of home fans with Shaun Bruce and Cam Gliddon especially doing damage. Torrey Craig had the chance to tie it right before the half but went 1/2 at the FT line, Cedric adding a two to make it 49-46 at HT. Coming off a scoreless night a few days ago, Tom Abercrombie was in vintage form.
The game was briefly tied at 58, but the Taipans never actually led since scoring the first bucket of the game (Markel Starks) until Starks hit a three with 3:20 left in the game. With 7:31 remaining the Breakers were up by 10 and it seemed a vital victory was on the way, having finished the third strongly, largely on the back of Catfish Jackson.
But that’s not how this team has been trucking lately. Cedric had been playing pretty great, even hitting his threes (4/9 for the game), but he was benched with his fourth foul less than two mins into the final period. From that moment, Cairns outscored NZB by 26-13.
Cedric came back in but fouled out for good after teasing a commanding hand. Both teams were able to get to the foul line in the later stages. Only one team was able to make that count. Nor were the kiwi side able to make use of a Tai Wesley offensive board down by one in the last minute. Nor a Mika Vukona O-board on that extra possession. Following a Cedric triple to make it 86-82 to NZ, the Breakers missed their final five field goals. Another late collapse, the title defence is now lying in tatters.
Abercrombie topped with 23 points (8/16 FG), while Cedric added 20 with 4 boards and 6 assists. Mika’s 8p/9r effort was solid and so was Pledger’s 12 points and 4 rebs. Webster only scored 11, however. For the Taipans, Gliddon had 23, Starks 19 and Bruce 14.
Stocks:
Movin’ On Up Like Curtis Mayfield – Cool to see Shea Ili get some game again, he had that one really nice performance early in the season but hasn’t seen hardly any minutes between the minutes vacuum of Cedric/Corey. Understandable, though with Cedric in foul trouble here and Shane MacDonald injured, Ili got five full mins, not contributing much to the box score (only one assist) but not getting picked on either. Plus TA’s 34 points was a pleasant revival.
Goin’ Down Slow Like Howlin’ Wolf – Anyone planning on getting Breakers tickets for the finals. They probably won’t be there now, though we can hope.
Key Stat(s)
Play of the Game
Torrey Craig, fo’ sure. But this was slick too from Abs:
Season Standings
Cedric Jackson – 32
Corey Webster – 28
Tom Abercrombie – 23
Match MVP Points
Tom Abercrombie – 3
Cedric Jackson – 2
Alex Pledger – 1
Up Next
Friday, 7.30pm: NZ Breakers vs Townsville Crocs, Vector Arena (NZT)