Breakers 98 Slingers 92
KEY POINTS:
Paora Winitana went from the far end of the bench to key contributor last night as the Breakers overcame another indifferent shooting display to see off the Singapore Slingers in a thrilling overtime finish at the North Shore Events Centre.
Winitana has been a peripheral figure on his return to the club this season, notching a couple of minutes here and there and seldom bothering the scorers.
But last night, with the team's front liners failing to get the job done, coach Andrej Lemanis sent Winitana on - and left him on.
The result was 14 crucial points, including a brace of threes. It wasn't quite divine intervention, but a player nicknamed the Bishop for his religious beliefs certainly answered his coach's prayers. Winitana might not have sunk the winning basket - that was left to Paul Henare after another Kirk Penney-inspired rally - but his display did help kickstart a Breakers revival just when the match seemed to be slipping away.
Having gone from dead and buried with three minutes remaining, the Breakers looked to have won it after Penney single-handedly erased a nine-point deficit down the stretch.
But Slingers import Mike Helms nailed a three with seven seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime and the Breakers were forced to edge out a victory with a faultless display from the free-throw line.
The result levelled the New Zealand team's record at 5-5 and consolidated their place in the top eight with a third of the 30-match regular season completed.
There were technical problems at the game with scoreboard and timekeeping issues forcing an extended delay and a series of aborted restarts at the end of the first quarter.
