Basketball: In-form Breakers look for big finale

What a fillip it would be for the Breakers if they could beat the ANBL late-season favourites, the Melbourne Tigers.

What momentum it would give them for next season, having beaten the two top-finishers of 2005-06.

The Breakers go into tonight's first of two against the Tigers at Trusts Stadium, the home team's last games of this season, with hopes high after a three-game winning streak.

Melbourne have nothing to win nor to lose. They can't overtake the table-topping Sydney Kings, who the Breakers downed 115-104 last Sunday, and can't be overtaken by third-placed Wollongong Hawks.

The Tigers expect to have Rashad Tucker (toe) and Tom Greer (ankle) back from injury after the pair missed their last game, a 94-91 loss to the Hawks.

Breakers forward Brian Green (groin), shooting guard Aaron Olson (heels) and bench man Ben Thompson (calf) will carry injuries into the two-game series.

Green was yesterday named player of the penultimate round after scoring 26 in the away win over the Hunter Pirates and 27 against the Kings. Two weekends ago their other American forward, Rich Melzer, took that award but it is not just those two who are stepping up.

"There were two options for us," coach Andrej Lemanis said of their end-of-season run after a string of 11 consecutive losses.

"One was to quit and let the season go to waste and the second was to give ourselves a platform for next season. We're playing some pretty good basketball now and it's nice not just for the players but also to let the fans and the sponsors know that the right decisions are being made."

With the majority of the players yet to re-sign, the late-season improvement may well affect roster decisions, with the chemistry between Green and Melzer as scorers and the playmakers in Paul Henare, Lindsay Tait and Ben Pepper finally coming right.

The Breakers and Tigers meet again at Trusts Stadium on Saturday and Lemanis would love at least one win.

"We'd like to show we're good enough to compete in this league. We're playing as well as we have all season so it's the right time for us to meet the competition favourites. When you're playing well you want to play the best."


The lineups

NZ Breakers: Brian Green, Rich Melzer, Ben Pepper, Aaron Olson, Paul Henare, Mika Vukona, Tim Behrendorff, Lindsay Tait, Ben Thompson, Brent Charleton.

Melbourne Tigers: Rashad Tucker, Daryl Corletto, Chris Anstey, Tom Greer, David Stiff, Neil Mottram, Stephen Hoare, Darryl McDonald, Dave Thomas, Braith Cox.