Basketball: Breakers edge out champs in extra time

By PETER JESSUP


It was not Aaron Olson's best game by any stretch of the imagination, but yesterday he nailed the shots that mattered to give the Breakers an extra-time win over the Sydney Kings with seconds left on the clock.

It is no mean feat to push the defending champions to the extra period, but even so, the Breakers led for most of the game at the Trusts Stadium and should have put the champions away before then.

Kings coach Brian Goorjian conceded defeat to the better team, but was disappointed that the composure his side showed at the end was not enough to bring them home.

"They did a good job of exploiting our lack of height," Goorjian said.

The Kings played without new import Mark Sanford, who could not be registered in time for tip-off.

"He wouldn't have had an effect," Goorjian said. "Size is going to be an issue for us, Sanford or not."

The Australian national coach praised the new Breakers venue, as Adelaide's Phil Smyth had the week before.

"Everyone is excited in the league about New Zealand. It's a great facility, they're a good team, well coached - it's good for the competition."

The Breakers created lots of opportunities in the first quarter yesterday and should have converted more of them. They led 23-19, but the gap could have been much higher, with Olson missing some easy looks at the three-shot.

Olson appeared to lose confidence as the game wore on, delivering passes rather than shooting when free.

He had a clear look to win the game when it was 84-all and 17 seconds to go but couldn't execute. But he did shut down the Kings' Olympian, CJ Bruton.

The Kings gave the Breakers some slack, also missing chances, with Bruton, centre Brett Wheeler and Brad Sheridan all restricted below their averages.

The visitors also gave away plenty of turnovers. With the Breakers more enthusiastic in competing for the rebounds, the score blew out to 15-5 then 21-12 before closing up again.

Both teams produced better combinations in the second 12 minutes, with both Bruton and Olson nailing their first three attempts. But by then the defences of both had lifted and points were hard to come by.

The Breakers' defensive hustle was better than it had been against Adelaide, but still the Kings closed, and five minutes into the quarter they took the lead, 37-36. That seemed to lift the home team, as did the injection of Lindsay Tait, Ben Thompson and Dillon Boucher from the bench.

The session ended with two minutes of torrid scrabbling, much of it with bodies on the floor, as the Breakers showed how keen they were to chase loose balls that might give them their first win of the season.

They led 47-40 when the hooter went, with imports Ben Pepper and Mike Chappell scoring 10 points each. Bruton and captain Smith were restricted to five.

The Kings had shot only 12 of 35 from the field and there was the feeling that was bound to improve.

But the visitors' shots kept dropping short and, with Pepper cleaning up in the traffic under the basket, the Breakers turned rebounds into points, leading 70-60 at the third break.

Sheridan and Smith provided impetus and the Kings led briefly, levelling at 84-84 to force overtime.

At the end it was the Breakers' big-name players who brought them home, co-captain Pero Cameron making the plays that mattered, Pepper showing leadership and Chappell finishing with a limp on his bad ankle.

Coach Frank Arsego made a point of keeping his team's feet on the ground despite their first win over the Kings. They were one-and-one from two games, but he was pleased with the self-belief they would gain from the win.

Reproducing it weekly, however, will not be easy.