Basketball: Breakers take their time to feel at home

Tom Abercrombie of the Breakers dunks against the Kings. Photo / Getty Images

There was a time when playing in front of nearly 6400 fans at home might have seemed fanciful for the Breakers. It wasn't even that long ago for Andrej Lemanis.

The Breakers coach was in reflective mood on Friday night as he watched his side, defending ANBL champions and one of the league's best clubs, beat Sydney 76-59 in front of 6383 fans at Vector Arena - the biggest crowd for a basketball match in New Zealand.

The Breakers used to be the easy-beats of the competition and struggled to stay afloat financially. Instead they returned to the top of the ANBL table on Friday night with a four win, one loss record and are among the favourites for the title again this season.

"When you think about how far this club has come,'' Lemanis started, "certainly from my first year here [in 2005] and we used to play out at Manukau. We gave that venue a whirl and we got maybe 100 people in the stands who paid, maybe 150 all up. To see the growth from then to now is extremely pleasing.''

The Breakers hope to make Vector Arena their home one day but will return to their regular home, the North Shore Events Centre, on Thursday when they face Adelaide. They will play another two matches at Vector this season and hope to play there if they make the playoffs.

Although the venue and crowd were two of the best aspects of Friday night's game, it also affected the quality of the Breakers' play. They struggled to find their range from outside as they came to grips with a new environment and shot a dismal none from eight from three-point range in the first half.

They improved as the game went on (they finished with eight three-pointer s from 29 attempts) and Bruton exemplified this better than anyone. He went pointless in the first half as his shots rimmed out but finished with a game-high 21 points, including four bombs in the final quarter as the Breakers ran away with the game.

He threw up plenty of shots, and had four in a row in one possession, as his teammates kept handing him the ball.

"It's definitely a challenge [playing in a new stadium],'' Bruton said. "When we came for the first day of practice, there were a few airballs going up. It took a little while for everyone to find their rhythm. Even tonight there were a few airballs and a lot of short balls.''

It was particularly ugly in the second quarter, when the Breakers scored only six points in an eight-minute stretch. It allowed Sydney to reduce the gap from 20-8 at the end of the first quarter to 26-24 but the Breakers kept their noses in front until the eased away in the final period.

"Whenever a team moves to a different venue in the league, you find in the first couple of games the scoring is low and the percentages are low until everyone finds their range and gets the depth of perception and gets used to rims,'' Lemanis said. "It just takes time. Obviously here you have the crowd at one end and a curtain at the other so it's all a little bit different.''

It will be different again on Thursday, when they host Adelaide. They should have too much firepower for the visitors but the highlight is bound to be the raising of the championship banner they won last season.

The Breakers look to have assembled a well-rounded team this season, despite the absence of Kirk Penney. Cedric Jackson isn't a prolific scorer from point guard but he's lightning quick and creates plenty of opportunities for his teammates and Daryl Corletto provides a cool head from the bench.

They are also defensively strong and have restricted teams to an average of 62 points in their last three games.

"They are a tough team,'' Sydney coach Ian Robilliard said. "I think they have more balance this year and that will flow at both ends of the court. They are a good unit.''