Basketball: Breakers bounce back

Cedric Jackson's 22 points helped the Breakers to victory over the Perth Wildcats. Photo / Getty

Wildcats 70
Breakers 80

The New Zealand Breakers are back.

As statements of intent go, handling the defending champion Perth Wildcats on their home court is a rather impressive start to the new season.

After all, Perth won 13 of 14 games at Perth Arena last season. The Breakers, on the other hand, won just 11 of 28 games in total.

But those respective records were cast aside on an encouraging night in Western Australia. The Breakers looked like their old selves in dominating their hosts at the start before hanging on at the end to announce their renewed intentions for the Australian NBL crown.

The team that won three straight championships looked like winners once again in a flawless first half, taking a 23-point lead against last season's juggernaut. Even with an absent Tom Abercrombie and a limited Alex Pledger - two-fifths of the starting five missing from the opening tip - the Breakers showed their squad is much better placed for a title tilt.

And although the Wildcats mounted an anticipated fight back in the final quarter, getting the margin to as few as five points, the Breakers closed out the win to start the season on the highest of notes.

Two issues that had plagued the Breakers last season - defence and closing out close games - were seriously tested in week one and both areas survived a stern examination. Perth were simply prevented from getting anything going early, and where the Breakers from the previous campaign might have wilted when faced with an insistent opposition, this new breed stood tall in the face of unrelenting pressure.

The difference between this year's Breakers and the previous incarnation could be attributed to the new recruits.

Ekene Ibekwe notched the first points of the new season, later illustrating his imposing wingspan by throwing down a vicious dunk directly from an in-bounds pass. The Nigerian international finished with 10 points and six rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Rhys Carter, perhaps the lowest profile of all the additions, made a massive mark in the opening half. The journeyman guard had an early impact with a nice move off the dribble, before thriving in transition to make a trio of triples and end the game with 14 points and seven assists.

But it was Cedric Jackson, of course, who was the difference between the two sides. The returning MVP spent the first quarter doing Cedric Jackson things - draining his first three-point attempt, finishing a steal with a lay-up, and barking at teammates who erred in their option-taking.

But in the second half, when his side needed him the most, the American came up with several big plays to finish with a game-high 22 points to add to his five assists and five rebounds.

And a couple of players who were present during last year's annus horribillis also chipped in with tidy contributions - Mika Vukona took 10 boards to go with his seven points, while Reuben Te Rangi added 10 points.

But, just as importantly, the Breakers were much more adept as a team on the defensive end. Looking at the box score, it would be easy to assume that Perth weren't making their shots. After all, they hit just 34 per cent from the floor, compared to the Breakers' mark of 45 per cent.

But that statistic told only a part of the story. The Breakers, especially in the first half, restricted their opponents in finding any space when the Wildcats poked and probed around the paint.

Everywhere a Perth player turned, they found a Breaker in their face, with the on-court rotation working in unison to limit the open looks of their foes. That kind of pressure was rarely present last season, and the Breakers' new emphasis on speed, length and athleticism immediately reaped dividends.

Now they will need to back it up at home against Adelaide next Friday.

Wildcats 70 (Redhage 20, Daniels 19, Beal 12)
Breakers 80 (Jackson 22, Carter 14, Ibekwe 10)
HT: 26-49