Basketball: Breakers up for fierce battle

Breakers firebrand centre Gary Wilkinson was last night cleared by the judiciary to play in the grand final series beginning tomorrow night. Photo / Paul Estcourt

The Breakers are expecting the Cairns Taipans to employ Perth's tactics of niggly, physical defence that came close to unseating them in the ANBL semifinals.

The Breakers dropped the first game of that series against Perth, barely firing a shot in anger, before upping their own physicality and recording gutsy, back-to-back wins.

That gives them a chance of becoming the first New Zealand team to win a title in a professional Australian sports league.

The form book suggests they should do just that, with the Breakers winning all three games against Cairns during the regular season. No surprises then that nobody has been reading that form book as the Breakers gear up for the first of the best-of-three finals tomorrow night.

"They are a team that gets after you defensively like Perth and I'm sure it will be a fiercely contested battle, one we look forward to," coach Andre Lemanis said.

"This is finals basketball. What happened previously really doesn't matter now. Both clubs have given themselves the opportunity to win their first title so both are in the same position in that regard and will be excited about that prospect."

The sell-out crowd at North Shore will be expecting a more cohesive, playoff-style effort than that which the Breakers dished up in their game one performance against the Wildcats a fortnight ago.

The Breakers did all they were asked in games two and three to banish those memories, but they would still be well served to remember nothing comes easy at this time of year - not even a quick decision from competition's disciplinary tribunal.

Last night Breakers star centre Gary Wilkinson was cleared to play after a judicial tribunal reviewed a clash between him and Perth Wildcats Andre Brown and Kevin Lisch in the final quarter of their game three semifinal clash last Wednesday night.

The Breakers won the match 99-83, with Brown ejected from the game for throwing a punch after a scuffle broke out.

Wilkinson was fined $500, Lisch $750 and Brown $1000 for their parts in the incident. There were no suspensions.

With Kirk Penney likely to be double-teamed and pressured at every opportunity, the Breakers need Wilkinson's 16 points per game and ability from beyond the three-point arc.

The Taipans' Kiwi shooting star Phill Jones emphasised Wilkinson's importance, rating him as more of a challenge to guard than Townsville's centre Luke Schenscher.

"He can stretch the floor and he shoots the ball so well," Jones said. "He's a totally different player to Schenscher. Wilkinson can still catch it on the block and do some stuff.

"His greatest strength is roaming around that three-point line and knocking down shots."

In a team that has relied too much on Mika Vukona on the glass, the Breakers also need Wilkinson's 5.5 rebounds and then some.

Wilkinson is still coughing and spluttering, the legacy of a bronchial infection, but he is improving.

With tickets difficult to come by, the Breakers are expecting the crowd to become their sixth man.

"Last week's full house was the best atmosphere I have ever experienced at the NSEC," said North Shore local Thomas Abercrombie.

"It sends shivers down your spine to hear that noise ... in the big moments during the game, this is why we play the game."