BRISBANE BULLETS 106
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 89
KEY POINTS:
Two Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) playoffs in 48 hours proved too much for the New Zealand Breakers as their season ended with an emphatic loss in Brisbane tonight.
Defending champions the Brisbane Bullets demolished the Breakers 106-89 in the elimination quarterfinal thanks to a blistering second quarter where they outscored the visitors 41-18.
Brisbane's Tall Blacks centre Craig Bradshaw came back to haunt the club that tried to sign him pre-season, leading the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Bradshaw earlier vowed to hit the Breakers with aggression and "give it to them" on defence, and he was a dominant presence as they built a 62-43 halftime lead.
Five Bullets hit double figures, with ANBL's most valuable player contender Ebi Ere adding 22 points as he tried to match his 39-point regular season average against the Breakers.
Breakers star Kirk Penney led their scoring again with 24, import Derrick Alston added 22 points and seven rebounds while veteran Tony Ronaldson continued to battle an achilles tendon strain to hit 14 points and add five assists.
In their first visit to the playoffs, the Breakers faced a big task just 48 hours after eliminating Cairns 100-78.
They arrived with a record of just one win from eight matches in Brisbane in their five years of existence.
Things started promisingly enough, Alston hitting their first eight points and Ronaldson chiming in with an early layup and a three-pointer to claim a 15-5 early lead.
The tough defence that served them so well in Cairns kept the Bullets' dangerous offence in check and the visitors led 25-21 at quartertime.
It all quickly turned sour early in the second quarter as Brisbane rattled in 15 unanswered points to snatch control.
Bradshaw was everywhere while his teammates grew in confidence, hitting seven three-pointers at a 50 per cent success rate to the Breakers' two, at just 25 per cent, in the first half.
Dangerman Penney had just six points to his name at the main break before warming up late in the match.
Frustration quickly crept in for the weary Breakers as they racked up the fouls in the third quarter.
Veteran point guard Orien Greene had his fifth personal foul just five minutes into the second half and a Bradshaw three-pointer soon afterwards stretched the lead to 75-51.
The Bullets took a handy 85-64 buffer into the final period and while there was a brief fightback from the Breakers, narrowing the gap to 11 points, it was all too late.
- NZPA
