Basketball: Breakers dominate grand final rematch
Breakers 77
Cairns Taipans 57
They might have been the two best teams last season but the New Zealand Breakers made short work of it when they beat the Cairns Taipans 77-57 at the pre-season Sunshine State Challenge in Ipswich near Brisbane last night.
The much-anticipated clash was a rematch of last season's final series which the Auckland-based club won 2-1.
Breakers centre Gary Wilkinson starred with a game-high 22 points and Alex Pledger produced a dominant performance in the paint with 11 rebounds and 10 points.
There was plenty of feeling in the encounter. Right from the start the Breakers looked a different side from the one which capitulated to the Sydney Kings on Thursday night. They had more intensity and their often criticised defence had a sharp edge. It needed to be tight with the Taipans matching the Breakers' desperation in the opening exchanges.
Taipans swingman Brad Hill was one of the few to find his way to the hoop unmolested. Breakers development player Dion Prewster made the most of his opportunity on the court, scoring seven points to help his side take a 20-14 lead into the break.
The Breakers' bench rose from their seats twice in a great start to the second spell. BJ Anthony made a move into the paint, got the basket and the foul, and Pledger impressed the 300-strong crowd with an alley-oop.
Cedric Jackson warmed to his work, threading the needle with some clever passing as the Breakers cleared out to a 15-point lead at halftime.
With the Taipans missing playmaker Jamar Wilson, their offence was always going to suffer. But 29 per cent from the floor? Dreadful.
Probably of more concern to coach Aaron Fearne would have been his side's defence. While not woeful by any standard, the Breakers got inside a little too easily.
The rebounding battle was one-way traffic with the Breakers grabbing 49 boards to 28 from the Taipans.
The Breakers were missing experienced guard CJ Bruton, who skipped the game to rest a sore knee. Bruton is expected to log some court time in the classification match today but the camp is monitoring his injury ahead of the Breakers' opening ANBL game against the Gold Coast Blaze on October 7.
New Zealand Breakers 77 (Gary Wilkinson 22, BJ Anthony 11) Cairns Taipans 57 (Brad Hill 18, Andrew Warren 14). HT: 40-25.