And there it is, the Breakers may have done it the hard way following that six game loss streak but they finished strong, winning the next five and rolling to fourth place. Two wins against Melbourne topped it off and they’ll meet the minor premiers at least twice more in the semi-finals this week. Potentially five games in a row against the same lads. Good fun.

It all broke right when it had to. The first thing was that Perth rested players in a loss to Sydney, effectively handing first place to Melly, but in the process avoiding having to travel to New Zealand should NZB get that final spot. Fine by the Breakers, they’d definitely rather play Melbourne than anyone else in that top four. With first place all wrapped with a bow on it, Melbourne didn’t send their best blokes to NZ, making for a complete blowout and with that the Breakers only needed Adelaide to drop one of their last two games and it was all set.

Now, should the 36ers win both of those games, then the Breakers would be done since the best they could hope for was a three-way tie with them and the Illawarra Hawks. Those Hawks murdered the Breakers in cold blood a couple times, that was never gonna be helpful. But the Hawks were up for their clash with the 36ers. Kirk Penney and his buddies all played and played hard, Kevin Lisch was kinda instrumental and despite a third quarter comeback that really got close for a while there, Illawarra led for basically the entire match and they ran away with it in the fourth. If this was Kirk Penney’s way of making amends for the punishment he’s laid down on NZB this season then we gratefully accept it. Cheers, Kirk.

With that the final game was irrelevant. The final four were set in stone and the Breakers would meet Melbourne. Call the second clash here a preview but neither team was willing to let the other see the aces up their sleeve, though it still went right down to a grandstand finish.

NZ Breakers 100-63 Melbourne United

But first, the home tie. Melbourne clearly didn’t care all that much and that was perfectly fine for the Breakers, who needed the win. Chris Goulding, Daniel Kickert and Hakim Warrick all stayed back in Melbourne and the game was never really much of a contest. Between Cedric and Tommy, the Breaks scored the first seven points and were up 15-4 before anyone had really noticed. Melly came back well late in the first to close the gap to two, Blanchfield and Adnam doing their best, but it would never again be closer than that. Cedric sparked a quick finish to the first and NZB were up 22-16.

The second saw Corey come to the fore, sinking shots and looking sharp without his nemesis Goulding to guard him, Charles Jackson looked dominant too and a late TA triple had the Breakers up 21 – it was 53-34 at HT. Basically this was a slaying on both sides. The Breakers were making shots and moving the ball nicely while being completely overmatching against what Melly had to offer. Young gun Kyle Adnam was involved a lot but he couldn’t finish most of it. Good to see the youngsters getting a run, Adnam was last seen vomiting on the court so he’d have been keen to give ‘em all something better to talk about. Blowing chunks on the parquet, man. Gotta admire the commitment.

With the game all but settled at half time, coach Vickerman was able to rest the stars. Cedric would only play 21 mins, Webby 23 and Abercrombie only 18. Meanwhile Reuben Te Rangi played 21, Shane McDonald got a rare dozen on the court and Shea Ili and Finn Delany both got substantial time. Really spreading it around, nobody of the 12 active players got less than 6 mins. That was Delany, he was the only one who didn’t score as well.

The Breakers kept it exciting for the home crowd though, an audience who didn’t yet know if they’d get to see the lads again this season. Turns out they will. Anyway, Catfish had a double-double and the Breakers, thanks to a late RTR basket, hit 100 for only the second time this season. The 37 point victory was their biggest ever in a 40 minute game and the second biggest for any team this season. Given that Melly ended with only 63 points, the Breakers had already reached an unassailable mark with 5:52 left in the third.

There were 17 points (and 5 boards plus 6 assists) for Cedric, while his namesake Catfish had 18p/11r. Webster scored 17 points shooting 6 of 10 and Abercrombie with 14. Ili gets a little shout out too for his 7 points in 7 minutes. Adnam was the only United lad in double-figures (16 points) and it took him 18 field goal attempts to get there (6 made).

Melbourne United 68-70 NZ Breakers

And for the Melly leg now. The United guys were back in business, though the Breakers left Corey Webster behind – not rested but staying behind for the imminent birth of his first child. Best wishes to the Webster family there.

With nothing on the line, neither team was all that locked in but in the best way. Melbourne especially, they were all about the highlight plays with some clinical three point shooting and a few powerful dunks. But the Breakers were monsters on the boards and as such were able to more than stick with them. Hell, they were leading for big stretches.

Chris Goulding flashed the talent that has him high in the MVP stakes, even if he tends to get a free pass sometimes simply because of his quality. Without Webster, Shea Ili got his first NBL start and it was pleasing to see he didn’t shy from the spotlight, he scored 9 points. McDonald and Bartlett also helped split those minutes.  

Fascinatingly the difference was never more than 7 points, both teams counter punching in a competitive contest that was always going down to the last minute. So let’s cut to that. 68-all and there’s 50 seconds left, the Breakers have the ball. Tai Wesley has been the star of the night, finishing with 23 points and 5 rebounds in one of his best performances all season. Fittingly they tried to post him up for the go-ahead but he couldn’t get it to drop… but Abercrombie rebounded. Then it was Wesley once more, unable to score but Ili got the board with some sharp hustle. Cedric drove it to the hoop and tried for the looping layup only to miss but Wesley was there for the tip in. Melbourne timeout followed but after all that the Breakers were able to burn almost 45 crunch-time seconds whilst taking the lead. That, ladies and gents, is quite a way to finish a game. Warrick couldn’t score out of the timeout with 5.4 to play – Wesley with the block of course. Dan Kickert missed a late three after putting them up with one two minutes from the end.

Aside from Wesley, there was a 10p/10r performance from Mika, with Cedric adding 5p/6r/4a and Catfish hauling in 11 rebounds with 6 points. He had a decent second half showing after Alex Pledger left the game at half time feeling dizzy. Wesley and Vukona were the bigs at the close, the Breakers going small and still dominating the rebounds. 48 to 31 was the final count. Chris Goulding scored 22 points and Kickert had 16. Both shot 7 of 15. Warrick was 3 of 13 for 8 points. Not a whole lot to dwell on given the reservations each coach had. After all, the real stuff starts on Thursday night. Bring it all the way on.

Stocks:

Movin’ On Up Like Curtis Mayfield – So cool to see Shea Ili playing more. It was pondered that he might have an important role this season as he seemed to outshine Shane McDonald early on, though once Corey returned and with Bartlett kept a hold of, there just weren’t any minutes there to be dealt out. So it goes, he still brought his bundle of energy to these two games and wasn’t only on the court at the finish but he played a crucial role with that offensive rebound.

Goin’ Down Slow Like Howlin’ Wolf – This close to the playoffs? Nah mate. No negative vibes to be had here.

Key Stat

This is the fifth year in six that the Breaks have made the playoffs. They’ve won the whole thing the other four.

Play of the Game

Shake and bake, youngblood! There was another point where Cedric dribbled the ball through some sucker’s legs.

Season Standings

Cedric Jackson – 41

Corey Webster – 32

Tom Abercrombie – 28

Charles Jackson – 24

Mika Vukona – 18

Tai Wesley – 15

Alex Pledger – 9

Everard Bartlett – 4

Match 27 MVP Points

Charles Jackson – 3

Cedric Jackson – 2

Corey Webster – 1

Match 28 MVP Points

Tai Wesley – 3

Mika Vukona – 2

Shea Ili – 1

Up Next

Thursday, 9.30pm: Melbourne United vs NZ Breakers, Hisense Arena (NZT)