Perth may have drawn first blood in the battle of the basketball heavyweights, but Dillon Boucher says the Breakers will be ready for a potential playoff rematch.
Pre-season prognostications positioned the Wildcats as the biggest threat to the Breakers' chances of reclaiming their Australian NBL crown, and Perth backed up those predictions in the first meeting between the two clubs on Friday night.
The Western Australia club dismantled the Breakers in front of a sell-out crowd at Perth's Challenge Stadium, winning 86-62 to pull back a game in the standings and, perhaps more importantly, land an early psychological blow.
The Breakers still lead the NBL with a 10-4 record after Perth (9-5) snapped their winning streak at five and Breakers' forward Boucher said, while the loss hurt, his team would be prepared if they had to go into Perth come the post-season.
"We're always confident, no matter what team we play, we can win," said Boucher. "We let ourselves down in Perth this time but, for the guys who it was their first time going there, it was a good learning curve as far as how it just beats your body down.