Basketball: Breakers look to import to keep chances alive

Sydney Kings 130 Breakers 113

The Breakers hope to sign a new American import to help lift their scoring and get them off the bottom of the NBL table.

After 12 rounds they still retain a chance of making the top eight despite registering just three wins. But frustration is boiling, visible in captain Paul Henare's "s-word" description of the refereeing during Saturday night's game against Sydney Kings.

Henare will likely face a penalty from the NBL. The club, while not publicly backing him, is doing so through NBL channels by requesting the league's evaluation of refereeing from the loss at the Pacific Events Centre in Manukau, as well as that from throughout the season, to measure the performance of the officials here with those who run games across the Tasman.

The league recently started flying in one ref from Australia for each Breakers game, with expat Aussies Alan Godden and Dallas Pickering normally the other two. The Breakers had asked for "quality referees so our upcoming officials could learn from them," said Breakers commercial manager Richard Clarke, "but so far that's not happening".

Clarke is in negotiations to bring another American forward to Auckland, with hope the new man can play the double-header against Perth at Trusts Stadium then Manukau this weekend. By NBL rules the club is barred from naming the player until paperwork, including visa clearance and league registration, is complete.

Fortunately, American Rich Melzer had been placed on the injury waiver list before round 10, allowing the Breakers to replace him. They have done that with Casey Frank but Frank does not play Melzer's power forward role and had little time against the Kings. The club wants to retain Frank as a bench swingman to replace Clifton Bush, who has a season-ending back injury, and is sweating on Frank's citizenship being granted so he is signed as a local rather than one of the two allowable imports.

In stats, the Breakers did well - bar turnovers, where they gifted 18 to the Kings' 12. But rebounds were even, the Kings shot 46 of 88 for 53 per cent while the Breakers were not disgraced with 37 of 79 and 47 per cent.

The quality of the Kings defence was shown by forcing them to three shot-clock violations. They have eight straight wins, the Breakers have six straight losses.

With frustration building all round, from fans to the injured forwards Melzer and AJ Majstrovich, who do not yet have specific return dates, to the coaching staff regarding the officiating, to the management who need positives to secure a viable financial future, the Breakers are on a knife edge in coming weeks.