Basketball: Inferior execution lets down Breakers

By PETER JESSUP

Adelaide 106 Breakers 94

The Breakers opened their second NBL season with a loss to the Adelaide 36ers in which they were out-done by slicker execution from a squad that had the benefit of a longer pre-season.

But the Breakers would have been happy with a record crowd last night at their new home, the Trusts Stadium in Henderson, and with new buys Ben Pepper and Shawn Redhage who both performed well. But the home team was short of combinations and execution, and after a slow start they trailed all the way.

In the front-row of the 4140 spectators in the 5000 capacity venue were Jonah Lomu, DB brewery boss Brian Blake and Hamilton mayoral candidate and team part-owner Michael Redman. Former coach Jeff Green was there as a commentator and Olympic gold medallist Hamish Carter performed the ceremonial tip-off duties.

When the game actually started it was unusually slow, the teams were not keen to mix it up and the early scoring came mostly from three-pointers. Pero Cameron dropped a couple for the Breakers, Dusty Rychart sunk a couple for the 36ers.

Rychart was the first player to start accumulating fouls as the action heated up and first to foul out in the new NBL season.

But the relatively high scoring early in the first quarter, after which the visitors led 29-27, was measure of some ordinary defence rather than hot outside shooting.

Pepper made his presence felt at both ends of the court. His blocks on defence and impact inside the arc was something that was often missing last season. But his accuracy rate, and that of the team, was poor.

Redhage took time to get going but when he did it was a dramatic steal and sidestep to get him to the basket to score. A dunk and several assists followed. He had 11 points from 10 minutes by the break, equal top-scorer for the Breakers with Mike Chappell who had played 17 minutes, and was instrumental in keeping the home side in touch 47-52 at halftime.

The difference between the two sides was the visitors' slicker delivery of passes and a 45 per cent field goal success rate compared to the Breakers' 39 per cent.

As the third quarter opened Adelaide took the lead out to 10 points and that took the home crowd out of it to an extent, the decibel level lowered decidedly as the Breakers played catch-up. It took fouls against Redhage to get both the team and the fans fired up, but the gap remained, 71-80 at the third stop.

As was their habit last season, the Breakers let the opposition take points in bunches mid-game, a snoozing problem they'll have to fix. They closed to within two points at one stage, slipped out to a 13-point gap at others.

But after running all the way with Adelaide, the team that beat last season's defending champs, the Kings in the NBL pre-season tournament, the home side showed they will be capable contenders in the league.

On October 10 they have another big test against the Kings.