Wildcats 83
The Breakers are going to the ANBL grand final series.
Last night the New Zealand team completed their comeback from a game-one drubbing, notching a decisive game-three victory on a wild night against the aptly-named Perth Wildcats.
They will play the winner of Sunday's other semifinal decider between the Cairns Taipans and the Townsville Crocs in the grand final series starting at the North Shore Events Centre next Wednesday.
Forward Gary Wilkinson led the way last night with 20 points and seven rebounds. Wilkinson was also among the protagonists in a fourth-quarter brawl that ended with Wildcats centre Andre Brown being ejected and star guard Kevin Lisch being slapped with a costly technical foul.
The three Americans weren't the only ones fighting last night, with the Breakers muscling up to a man to keep their season alive.
"We fight another day," said veteran point guard Paul Henare, who staved off retirement for another week and a half at least.
"This group of players here, we are underestimated with our character and our heart. We showed in the last two games we have got what it takes."
While it was the Breakers who were up against it in Perth on Sunday, last night the Wildcats had the mountain to climb, having crossed the Tasman for the third time in six days. They gave it plenty but this was a night on which the Breakers were never going to be denied.
"That Perth game was their best shot," Henare said. "But we stood up to them and we brought it back here. The best team won today. We answered all the questions that have been thrown at us for a long, long time."
Mika Vukona showed no signs of the knee ailment that hobbled him in game one and slowed him dramatically in game two, pulling in five crucial offensive boards to lead a vastly-improved rebounding effort.
Game two hero Kirk Penney was also on song, drilling five of his eight three-point attempts in an 18-point haul.
Penney was undoubtedly the man of the series, but there was a lengthy queue of players behind worthy of plaudits as the Breakers all but came back from the dead after dropping the first game by 23 points.
A rash of turnovers put the Breakers in an early eight-point hole but they fought back to close the quarter trailing by just two. It was a scrappy start but there were encouraging signs, most notably a competitive rebounding effort and a run of points in the paint. Wilkinson, Tom Abercrombie and Dillon Boucher all threw down dunks in the opening quarter.
The momentum that swung the Breakers' way late in the first quarter flowed into the second, with CJ Bruton spearheading a 13-3 run.
Kevin Braswell hit a three from so far down town he was practically in the carpark, to give the Breakers their first double-digit lead. At halftime the margin was steady at nine, with Wilkinson leading the way with 14 points.
The Wildcats pushed hard at the start of the third quarter as the Breakers' shooting cooled off. But a strong shift by Alex Pledger kept the visitors at bay before a Wilkinson three and an Abercrombie alley-oop put the Breakers 11 clear heading into the final quarter.
The Wildcats opened with a Damien Martin three before tensions that had simmered all night boiled over. Wilkinson was pulled to the ground by Lisch, sparking a melee in which Brown punched Vukona.
Brown was ejected, while Lisch was tagged with a technical foul, handing Wilkinson four free throw shots, of which he converted three to take the lead back out to 10.
A Penney three with 5.28 remaining was the final dagger that finished Perth's brave resistance.
