Basketball: New Zealand Breakers downed by Cairns Taipans in opener

Finn Delany and Tom Abercrombie go for the ball. Photo / Photosport

Taipans 82
Breakers 71

A new season, but the same outcome for the New Zealand Breakers.

An 82-71 defeat to the Cairns Taipans has continued the Breakers' losing streak against the Queensland side, after losing all four contests last season.

It's a curious statistical quirk - and probably an outlier - especially considering Cairns aren't tipped for glory in the ANBL. Yet, they have had their way with the Breakers of late, and it continued at Spark Arena today.

The Breakers looked solid for a half, but their play slowly disintegrated as the Taipans slithered back into the contest. Led by import Scoochie Smith and forward Stephen Weigh, the Taipans hustled back from a double digit first-half deficit, with the Breakers having several players succumb to foul trouble.

Taipans coach Aaron Fearne was delighted by his side's ability to overcome their early struggles

"After that initial hole there we did a good job of keeping pace, we got some easy buckets, and defensively we were really good - we made it difficult for them."

It wasn't the only difficulty the Breakers encountered. Centres Rob Loe and Alex Pledger were both in foul trouble by halftime, and while they questioned the referees on their decisions, they weren't aided by the Taipans' procession to the rim.

Cairns were proficient through most of the contest at getting to the bucket, sneaking past the Breakers' first line of defence with regularity. Early, they were giving the Breakers a reprieve, missing several bunnies.

Later though, they found room to manoeuvre inside, and if the shots didn't fall, they were at least drawing contact, winning the foul count 30-19, something Breakers coach Paul Henare labelled "very lopsided"

The Breakers were relying on the duo of Tom Abercrombie and Edgar Sosa for their early offence, with the pair combining for 31 of their 43 first half points.

Long a reliable contributor on both ends, Abercrombie's skillset has added value in this potentially egalitarian offence, and with the likes of Penney and Mika Vukona aging, his usage may increase this campaign.

Today, he was up to the challenge, and was the key contributor as the Breakers grafted their lead. Abercrombie poured in 23 points, snared seven rebounds, and skied high for four trademark rejections

He was assisted by Sosa, who rattled home some jumpers with his leg-flaying jumper, but only DJ Newbill was able to join them in double digits for the contest.

With scoring at a premium, the Taipans started to cash in. A 25-12 third quarter period was highlighted by Smith as he canned triples, while the visitors also got more scoring punch from their bench.

The third quarter proved the difference, and Henare diagnosed the issue.

"There were a few unforced errors which just came with a lack of sharpness. We'll learn a lot from this, but obviously we've got a few things to work on but we definitely don't need to reinvent the wheel.

In the fourth quarter, Newbill started to spark into life, but by then it was too late, with the Breakers' improbable Taipans trouble continuing.

Taipans 82 (Smith 18, Weigh 17)
Breakers 71 (Abercrombie 23, Sosa 15, Newbill 12)
HT: 39-43