Season in balance for Breakers
The Breakers are excited about the prospect of coming home under the new trans-tasman travel bubble, though rampaging big man Colton Iverson might well be thinking, ‘‘what’s the rush?’’
Seven-foot (2.13m) import Iverson is on some roll with the Breakers on their road trip from hell in the Australian NBL – now it just remains to be seen whether his team-mates can join him in time to save this season of theirs.
The 31-year-old from Aberdeen in South Dakota was sensational for the Breakers in Sunday’s 92-85 defeat at the South East Melbourne Phoenix that dropped the Kiwi club to 5-12 for the season. They need to win something like 13 or 14 of their remaining 19 games to have any hope of squeezing into the playoffs.
At this stage the Breakers are due to head to Tasmania for a string of ‘‘home’’ games to follow Saturday’s round 13 visit to Melbourne, though discussions have been launched between club and the NBL around a return date to New Zealand following Tuesday’s announcement of a transTasman travel bubble by April 19.
The Breakers, who have been flitting around Australia since before Christmas, are excited about the prospect of getting back to see family and friends, though must quickly refocus if they entertain any hope of turning their season around.
At least the form of their American centre gives them some hope.
Iverson equalled the club record with 20 rebounds (and 10 points) in the 81-76 overtime victory over the Brisbane Bullets on March 27, and quickly gobbled that up on Sunday as he finished with a sensational, and historic, double-double of 26 points and 22 rebounds against the Phoenix.
A return to New Zealand might also work in their favour, with the likelihood of a back end of the season loaded with home games at Spark Arena.
Skipper Tom Abercrombie is certainly excited about that very prospect, not to mention seeing his wife and three kids very soon.
‘It’s incredibly exciting for us to have some dates set in stone,’’ said Abercrombie after news of the travel bubble broke while the team was at training. ‘‘It’s something we knew was going to be coming but it just seems to have taken forever. To have some certainty around that date gives us a little pep in our step.’’