Breakers steeled for rugged Perth test
Breakers coach Paul Henare has had no need to say anything extra to his team as they head into their biggest clash of the season.
When it comes to fierce rivals Perth Wildcats, there is not much more he can add.
The Australian NBL’s greatest rivalry of the last decade resumes tonight as the Breakers (6-1) host the Wildcats (5-1) at Spark Arena ahead of the return clash in Western Australia three days later.
The two teams, whose all-time head-to-head record is locked at 29 wins apiece, have won the last eight ANBL titles between them (four each). And once again they found themselves at the pointy end of the table with the league-leading Kiwi outfit putting their six-game winning streak on the line against the defending champions.
Given the history between the sides, one would have expected the intensity levels to ratchet up at training, with a little more edge in scrimmages and a little more chatter around the gym.
But while it has been mainly business as usual for the Breakers this week, Henare has no doubt that will change come tip-off.
‘‘These guys, especially the veterans like Mika [Vukona] and Tom [Abercrombie], they’re not extroverts anyway, they really internalise and I know they’ll be ready for a good, hard clash, as it always is,’’ Henare said.
‘‘You talk about their strengths and what they bring and recognise it that way, but we don’t go about our day to day any different.
‘‘We’re playing against a tough side, a championship-winning side, there’s not much more you
need to talk about really.’’
While Perth entered the season as a popular choice to go back-toback, the Breakers’ hot earlyseason form has caught many by surprise. Not Henare, of course, who was always confident the group he assembled would be more than competitive.
Having been apart of championship-winning sides with the Breakers as both a player and assistant coach, Henare feels the team culture and chemistry they have developed has them well equipped to go deep into the playoffs.
And he put a lot of that down to the selfless way imports DJ Newbill and Edgar Sosa, who have both hit game-winning shots throughout the winning streak the latter against Cairns on Saturday - have integrated themselves into the squad.
‘‘They didn’t come in and try and exert their presence on the group,’’ the coach said.
‘‘They took time to learn about their team-mates, learn about our system, how we play, how we defend, about the competition.
‘‘Maybe there’s a little bit of luck involved but we spent a lot of time in the off-season trying to recruit the right people and building around the core group that we had last year and putting the right pieces of the puzzle in place.’’
The best thing about the Breakers group, Henare added, was that they are well aware they have achieved nothing yet.
And you can bet Perth will quickly bring them back to earth if there is even a hint of complacency.
Import guard Bryce Cotton looms as a danger man for the Breakers and the addition of University of North Carolina forward JP Tokoto has added to what was already an athletic Wildcats lineup.
Perth have traditionally struggled with the long road trip, losing their last seven games in Auckland.
But with long-time centre Matt Knight announcing his retirement this week due to ongoing concussion symptoms, the visitors have even more reason to perform.
‘‘They’re just playing really well as a unit,’’ Henare said. ‘‘They’re 5-1 for a good reason and it’s up to us to put them under a little bit of pressure on our floor.’’