Basketball: Breakers lose a game too far

SYDNEY - The tyranny of distance undermined the New Zealand Breakers' chance of securing back-to-back Australian National Basketball League wins after a cross-country journey ended in an 87-98 defeat to the Perth Wildcats.

Saddled with a 15,000km, four-game road trip, the Breakers stumbled at the second hurdle as the Wildcats tightened their grip on a playoff berth by snapping a three-match losing streak.

The Breakers' American guard Brian Green was the shining light for the visitors, sharing the top scoring honours with 24 points, thanks to a spectacular 16-point individual effort in the final quarter.

Despite the Breakers' away record now reading 1-11 after Friday's 120-106 defeat of the Crocodiles in Townsville, head coach Andrej Lemanis was satisfied with the performance considering the travel involved.

"It was always going to be a difficult game for us, given the scheduling. It took us 14 hours to travel to Townsville on Thursday and we played there Friday.

"It took us another 13 hours to get here yesterday and the game was at four o'clock in the afternoon so recovery time was short.

"I thought given these circumstances we came out and played well. The intensity was good and that was always going to be an issue for us tonight. When you look at the numbers, they're not bad."

The Wildcats were comfortably clear at the end of each quarter. Skipper Tony Ronaldson led the way by matching Green's 24-point haul with eight three-pointers.

The opening quarter saw Ronaldson pick up where he left off against Wollongong on Wednesday, with a blistering display from outside the arc, nailing five from six to help the Wildcats to a 24-18 lead at the first break.

Both sides favoured long-range shots in the second quarter, when Perth sank three of their six attempts while New Zealand dropped four from five.

Wildcats forward Shawn Redhage also hit his straps early in the quarter, and finished with eight for the quarter and 23 for the match.

Nine second-quarter turnovers also proved costly for the Breakers as the home side extended their lead to 48-38 at halftime.

Another eight points from Redhage in the third helped Perth stretch their lead to 19 points late in the third quarter, as the Wildcats outscored the Breakers 24-17 for the period.

The Breakers would not lie down and orchestrated a 32-26 final quarter charge, thanks largely to Green's 16 points in that period, but the Wildcats' lead was too great.

The Breakers play the penultimate leg of their road trip in Adelaide tomorrow.

- NZPA