KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand Breakers have taken another step towards the Australian National Basketball League playoffs but their coach says they face the toughest run in of any side.
The Breakers cemented seventh spot on the ladder with a 113-97 win over West Sydney Razorbacks on Saturday thanks to a dominant second half, in which they outscored the hosts 51-32.
The result all but extinguished the top-eight playoff hopes of the 10th-placed Razorbacks, and with ninth-placed Adelaide losing 90-88 to Perth it gave the Breakers a handy buffer as they prepare to host Pero Cameron's Gold Coast Blaze in Auckland on Thursday.
Still, seven of the Breakers' last nine matches are against top-eight sides, meaning their first playoff appearance in five ANBL seasons will be hard earned.
It includes two matches apiece against second-placed Melbourne Tigers and fourth-placed Perth Wildcats, and another away match against runaway leaders the Sydney Kings.
"It's a good battle and we're going to play everybody who is in that mix," coach Andrej Lemanis said after his team's fourth away win, and 11th from 21 matches in 2007-08.
"Our destiny is well and truly in our hands which is a good place to be."
Solid second-half defence, which restricted the Razorbacks to just 27 per cent shooting success, pleased Lemanis the most before a crowd of just 1800 at Sydney's Olympic Park Sports Centre.
Their situation looked dire three minutes before halftime when key forward Tony Ronaldson copped an accidental elbow from Tall Black Tony Rampton and departed with blood streaming from his forehead.
Two subsequent fouls shots from Razorbacks' topscorer Troy de Vries then made it 65-52 to the hosts.
But Ronaldson returned with a bandaged head and cotton wool stuffed in his nostril, and the Breakers roared into action after the break with a 28-12 third quarter.
Razorbacks sharp-shooting import Darnell Hinson was held to just 11 points, making just two of his 10 field goal attempts.
"That second half we were much more aggressive, we made them take tough shots. In the third quarter we didn't give them one uncontested look," Lemanis said.
- NZPA
