Jackson triple double leads Breakers past Crocs
On the day they raised their latest NBL championship banner at The V, the Breakers also provided a significant lift to the spirits of their fanbase with a much-needed return to form.
The defending champions, and winners of four of the last five Australian NBL crowns, bounced back from a dispiriting seasonlaunching defeat in Adelaide last Wednesday to take care of business effectively in their home opener against the Townsville Crocs at Vector in Auckland.
An all-the-way 89-81 victory (with six scorers in double-figures) wasn’t just a necessity after that 19-point defeat at the Sixers, but crucial in terms of what lies ahead; a daunting road double against Illawarra and Perth just days away. A 1-1 record heading into that is much more preferable to remaining on the schneid. And they did it without inspirational skipper MIka Vukona, who snapped a league-best 211-game consecutive appearance streak when he sat this one out with a strained gluteus muscle.
The return to action of club stalwarts Tom Abercrombie and Alex Pledger, who both missed the Adelaide game, helped. As did a notable dialling up of the effort levels and a game played at a pace much more to the Breakers’ liking.
With Vukona out, the Breakers needed some inspiration to go with their perspiration, and very much got it from perennial MVP candidate Cedric ‘‘Action’’ Jackson as he unleashed the fourth tripledouble of his Breakers career. Jackson, in his 99th game for the club, finished with 14 points (5/15 FG), 10 rebounds and 12 assists in a supreme all-round effort. But more than the numbers, his pace, effort and execution were at the level his team needs him to be at.
The other big-time performance for the Breakers came from fill-in guard Everard Bartlett who wants to stay at the club, even if Corey Webster returns from his NBA tryout in New Orleans. He continued to make a strong case for that with a highly efficient game-high 19 points on seven-of-nine shooting. He was a super slick five of seven from beyond the arc.
Reuben Te Rangi also stepped up his output with a slick shooting display from deep (he made all three of his triple attempts) to finish with 12 points, while import big man Charles Jackson hinted at some tasty things to come with plenty of effort going into his 10 points and nine boards.
It was a major step up from everyone after a flat effort in Adelaide.