KEY POINTS:
They could be hanging from the rafters when the Breakers bring their swagger home in a top-of-the-table Australian National Basketball League match this week.
The Breakers front up to league leaders South Dragons in Auckland on Thursday on the back of three successive wins on the road.
Their latest success, a 119-108 win over Townsville in north Queensland on Saturday night, lifted them to second on the standings.
The Breakers are enjoying their best start to a season, the road trip hat-trick lifting their record to 10 wins from 13 outings. Their title credentials are sure to be tested thoroughly by the Dragons, who top the ladder with 10 wins from 12 matches.
The Breakers had to withstand a fightback from Townsville before emerging with the points. The game was dominated by the visitors early on, with five players netting double-digit totals for the game. Kirk Penney and Rick Rickert, in particular, produced outstanding performances, contributing 34 and 26 points respectively.
The match was fairly even throughout the first quarter, but quickly changed in the second, with the Breakers opening up a 23-point lead after the third quarter. Another shift in the game gave the crowd plenty to cheer about in the last quarter but Townsville only got as close as seven points. It was their fifth successive loss.
After playing four games in nine days Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis was pleased his side held form.
"It is difficult mentally. I think it is harder mentally than physically but I thought we were really focused," Lemanis said. "We have a plethora of players who can make the big plays but we kept plugging away at the defensive end and kept giving them difficult shots."
Lemanis praised the game-high performance of Penney as a decisive factor.
"He is a quality player. He could easily demand to be the man but he fits into the team. He has played in the NBA but he lets me coach him."
- NZPA