Basketball: Pledger plays big part in Breakers revival

The way Alex Pledger began the win over Wollongong last weekend was enough to make anyone think he was fighting for his place. Photo / Getty Images.

The way Alex Pledger began the win over Wollongong last weekend was enough to make anyone think he was fighting for his place.

He wasn't - he'll start tomorrow night against Townsville and should continue to do so - but the Breakers had just reacquired the player who used to keep him from the starting five.

While the return Gary Wilkinson could have provided motivation for Pledger against Wollongong, he was instead sparked by an area that had been something of a deficiency for the defending champions so far this season.

So he crashed the offensive glass and set the tone for a victory which snapped a four-game losing streak, a victory he hopes is the first step in the type of winning run so ubiquitous in the last few campaigns.

The next step comes in Townsville (1-3), where the Breakers (2-4) lost by 10 in round two. Wilkinson should continue to reacclimatise against the Crocs but Pledger, once the protege, doesn't expect his role to change now the mentor is back.

The 26-year-old thinks the big men will complement, rather than compete with, each other - a scenario which will be only beneficial for the Breakers' chances of bouncing back from their tough start.

"I don't think my role has changed too much,'' Pledger said. "Especially with the things he's capable of doing - he's able to pull people out to the three-point line and put the ball on the floor, where I'm primarily a guy who catches the ball down low.

"I think we're more than capable of playing together. We've been pretty effective when we have.''

It was Pledger and Mika Vukona, the other member of the Breaker's triumvirate of bigs, who were most effective in the slum-busting win on Sunday. In the first quarter alone, the pair grabbed eight offensive rebounds to equal their team's season average leading into the game.

"That's an area that has been one of our greatest strengths over the last couple of years,'' Pledger said. ``And it's something that we hadn't been terrific at in the first couple of games.

"Me and Mika got us off to a pretty good start in that area, we had a pretty good size advantage and we did a good job of taking advantage.''

They will attempt to do likewise against Townsville, who won the battle of the boards when the teams met last month, a 94-84 defeat was probably the Breakers' worst performance of the young season.

"We just came out flat and didn't play with much energy. We got off to a pretty good start but that was put to a halt quite quickly and we never seemed to get out of that funk.

"But, even though we've lost two of the last three games since, I think the energy levels and intensity has been a lot higher.''

One man who who has helping to enhance those energy levels is Pledger's stablemate.

"That's one of the differences between this year and previous years,'' he said. "Outside of CJ, of course, we're a little bit of a quieter group. Gary's just another guy who has that personality off the court.

"I definitely think that helped lift things here around here. You saw the results on Sunday and hopefully that will spark a little winning streak.''