Basketball: Breakers need Sydney double

Gary Wilkinson scored a career-high 31 points in Sydney last month. Photo / Getty

The Breakers will fail in their quest for a fourth straight minor premiership, while home advantage in the finals is but a pipe dream.

But in a fortnight, they could be waking up to find themselves sitting securely in the fourth and final play-off position.

Such a prospect perhaps explains why the defending champions have refused to panic during this stuttering season, even when the defeats were mounting and the leaders were running away.

They have kept their composure and it could soon pay off. Two victories in two weeks over the Sydney Kings - along with a little help from Adelaide this afternoon - will see the Breakers in the play-off picture for the first time since round one.

Such circumstances can largely be attributed to a top-heavy league in which half the teams reach the finals, but the Kiwi club deserve some credit for reviving their dreams of a fourth straight championship.

Thursday night's tight win over Wollongong was the Breakers' third in five games, a run that started with victory over Sydney. While it hardly compares to the 16 straight wins they plundered last season, little from the two campaigns is comparable.

Fourth spot wouldn't have been the target when Dean Vickerman took charge but, after sitting in last place with a 4-9 record a month ago, the coach will take it now.

Of course, the way this season has progressed, the Breakers (7-11) could very well drop the next two games and be dead and buried. Heading into today's game against second-placed Adelaide, the Kings (8-8) have won three straight to move into fourth spot.

But the Breakers will take confidence into Thursday night's meeting at Vector Arena, before the return leg at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on February 8.

The champs crushed the Kings by 16 points in their only encounter this season, late last month across the Tasman. Gary Wilkinson poured in 31 points, a career-high for the Breakers, while fellow import Kerron Johnson had 21 to match his contribution from Thursday night.

Similar performances from the Americans over the next fortnight wouldn't go amiss, and coach Dean Vickerman revealed Wilkinson had particular reason for a repeat.

"Sydney recruited him a while back and he said it was something he wanted to prove to them how good he was," Vickerman said. "Hopefully, over the next two games, he proves those things again."

Wilkinson's outburst coincided with his elevation to the starting line-up in place of the injured Alex Pledger, a promotion that will remain regardless of whether Pledger overcomes the ankle injury he's been battling.

Vickerman was unsure about Pledger's availability, meaning commentator Casey Frank is likely to be retained for another week, but he was certain of the importance of the next fortnight.

"We've got them home and away and they're a team we're one-up on right now [in the season series]," he said. "They're playing great basketball at the moment and it'll be a great contest." APNZ