Henare impressed with intensity
NZ Breakers coach Paul Henare said his team were up for a fight as they ended Melbourne United’s six-game Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) winning streak.
The 98-81 win at the North Shore Events Centre on Thursday night was the best evidence yet that the Breakers can overcome their midseason slumber in time for the business end of the season.
Given that Melbourne defeated Perth in Perth last weekend to move to the top of the ladder, this result can’t be understated.
‘‘It’s a really good performance against a very good team and a team that’s rolling and playing with a lot of confidence, but I thought we came out, made the first hit and there was a real intent,’’ Henare said.
‘‘I made a point to the guys during the game that I could really see that focus and level of intensity in their eyes.
‘‘I probably haven’t seen that enough this year, but it was a great time to come out.
‘‘The starters came out and set a great platform, but it was wave after wave.’’
However, this win could come at a significant cost, with star import Edgar Sosa rolling his ankle at the beginning of the third quarter.
He had been a standout player for the first 20 minutes, with Melbourne having no answers in how to handle him. But when he left the game, Henare had to work out how to use others to replace him.
‘‘He was one of the guys that laid a really good platform, he was aggressive, assertive, got in the lane and hit a couple of shots,’’ Henare said of Sosa.
‘‘When a guy like that goes down, it’s one of those on-the-fly adjustments.
‘‘We have guys to come in an fill a role, but it changes the dynamic of the team for a long period of time and that’s what we were doing through the middle of the third quarter and start of the fourth, we kept trying to find our way.
‘‘We were expecting Melbourne to fight back, which they did, but we did a good job at weathering that storm again and finished strong.’’
After the game, the Breakers didn’t know how bad Sosa’s injury was, but they have an extremely short turnaround, playing the Taipans in Cairns on Saturday.
‘‘They’re in desperation mode to keep their season alive and they’re in touch,’’ Henare said of their next opponents.
‘‘They’re tough on their home floor and they’ve been on the road a bit, so we expect another tough one out there.
‘‘It’s how we respond, recover and travel, and get ready for that game on Saturday.’’
The Breakers haven’t won backto-back games since mid-November and recently it’s been win, loss, win, loss.
But this win over such a good team could give the Breakers momentum to take into Saturday’s game.
‘‘People love streaks,’’ Henare said.
‘‘You win a game and you’ve got form back, you lose a game and then you’re out of form.
‘‘It’s about how we’re going about our business. For the last couple of games, whether it’s been win or lose, there have been good patches and we’ve played a style of basketball we really like.
‘‘Even at this late stage of the season, it’s about continuing to grow as a group. We’re integrating Rakeem (Christmas) into the lineup and how we do things, so hopefully we’ll continue to grow.’’