BRISBANE BULLETS 106
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 89
KEY POINTS:
The Breakers might be lamenting a horror second quarter that saw them bundled out of the ANBL playoffs in Brisbane on Saturday night but they also have plenty of reasons to be cheerful.
After four seasons of mediocrity, 2006-07 was a breakthrough year for the fledgling franchise.
For the first time the team won more games than they lost, ending the season with a 17-15 record, including a 1-1 mark in the playoffs.
Had it not been for a mid-season injury curse that struck down imports Wayne Turner and Rick Rickert in the space of a week, the team's record would have been even better. Their path through the playoffs would likely also have been easier than the arduous one they were asked to travel.
"We've had to deal with a lot of adversity, and the guys have continued to work their arses off and kept believing in each other," coach Andrej Lemanis said.
"They've played for one another and, from where this club has been, it's been tremendous progress this year, but obviously not how we wanted to finish."
A pair of Tall Blacks conspired to sink the Breakers in Brisbane.
A dominant display by centre Craig Bradshaw and a fiery quartertime rev-up by Dillon Boucher helped lift the Brisbane Bullets to a win in the sudden death quarter-final.
Just 48 hours after a stunning 100-78 win over Cairns in their maiden visit to the post-season, it all went sour for the Breakers in the second quarter as the Bullets piled on 41 points to the visitors' 18.
"We couldn't find a way to get it going in that second quarter. We just came off the heat a little bit and obviously a team like the Bullets make you pay," Lemanis said. "Certainly that second quarter cost us our season in the end." Star guard Kirk Penney, who had 18 second-half points for a game-high total of 24, did not want to blame the quick backup from Thursday.
"It just comes down to that second quarter - we got blown out of the water. It was a tough way to go, we were just in a huge hole in that second half," Penney said.
"We did a great job against Cairns and I felt we had a good rhythm early here, then it just slipped off."
The Breakers started well to claim an early 15-5 lead, thanks to a flurry from import Derrick Alston, and led 25-21 at quartertime as the Bullets missed plenty of shots against some solid defence.
Brisbane coach Joey Wright was infuriated and ordered Boucher, a former Breaker, to rip into his teammates at the first interval.
"The boys looked flat and I thought I'd give them a rev up and it seemed to work," Boucher said.
"We've got some fantastic players and sometimes they need a kick up the butt."
One of those was Bradshaw, who was courted by the Breakers pre-season before opting to play for Brisbane, the defending champions who now face Melbourne in the semifinals.
Bradshaw was everywhere in the first half and ended with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
"We were worried, we didn't know what Craig Bradshaw was going to show up," Boucher said.
Five Bullets hit double figures, while for the Breakers, Alston had 22 points and seven rebounds and Tony Ronaldson again braved an achilles tendon strain to register 14 points and five assists.
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY NZPA
