Cairns Taipans 55
It wasn't pretty. Okay, it was ugly. But the Breakers will have taken no shortage of pleasure from that. A team often derided for being a bunch of pretty-boy outside shooters got down and dirty to deliver their first ANBL title last night.
From the opening semifinal defeat by Perth, to the game two double overtime defeat in Cairns, to last night's grim slog, no one could accuse the Breakers of doing it the easy way.
Suspicions they weren't tough enough, weren't big enough and couldn't defend well enough to win finals matches all proved awry. It was their defence that got them home last night. The razzle dazzle didn't come until mid-way through the final quarter when CJ Bruton, still the Australasian game's ultimate showman at 35, brought the packed NSEC crowd to its feet with back-to-back bombs to push the lead out to a decisive 21 points.
Whether or not he was hampered by the back injury that flared up on Wednesday, star shooter Kirk Penney wasn't at his best, recording just 11 points. Penney's modest hauls in the second and third games counted him out of the finals MVP reckoning, although his game-two heroics in Perth should never be forgotten.
Tom Abercrombie walked off with that particular individual accolade. That decision was probably fair enough, although to many eyes the most valuable Breaker was Mika Vukona. It was Vukona who turned the tide back his team's way whenever things threatened to get out of hand, Vukona who battled hardest under the rim, who drove to the hoop with the most purpose, who refused to be subdued.
There were other heroes aplenty. Kevin Braswell, Gary Wilkinson, Bruton and Alex Pledger all produced the goods at crucial stages throughout the playoffs. But it was point guard Paul Henare who the Breakers ran to as a man on the final buzzer, mobbing the retiring foundation player in a massive group hug.
Henare was there when the club lost heavily over its first four years. He was there when the cracks of light appeared in 2007/08. Fittingly, he was there last night when eight years of ambition came to fruition.
"I've got sore cheeks from smiling so much," Henare said. "I'm just so proud of my brothers. We've been through so much. [Coach] Andrej Lemanis has been here for six years, some of these guys I've played alongside for 10 years. We spoke about it being a storybook ending, somebody should write a book about it because it has been pretty cool."
The Breakers made a fast start and were never headed. Although the Taipans had chances to draw level in the third quarter, the Breakers always looked in control.
"You could kind of see it in their eyes early on," Henare said. "They made a couple of runs at us, but ... we always had that feel about us.
"We've always believed in our defence. We are not defensive specialists throughout the season but when we want to get down and dirty and shut people down we have proven that we can do that."
Henare rides off into the Hawkes Bay sun a winner, with last night's effort having eclipsed even the Tall Blacks' 2002 world championship run as a career highlight.
"I can happily go into retirement. You can't write a better script. I've had a great career."
"The Breakers are going to be around for a long time. Jump on the bandwagon. It's okay to do that, we want the support. I think there are some exciting times ahead. Seeing all these people, seeing the whole country get in behind us, that is very special. It is a very humbling feeling."
NZ teams in Aussie competitions:
Soccer
Australia National Soccer League: 1999-2004 Football Kingz failed to qualify for play-offs
A-League: 2005-07: New Zealand Knights failed to qualify for play-offs; 2007-2011: Wellington Phoenix: lost preliminary final 2009-10; eliminated in first play-off match 2010-11.
League
NRL: 1995-2011 Warriors: lost grand final to Roosters 2002.
Basketball
WNBL: 2007-08 Christchurch Sirens: Finished 8th of 10 teams.
Water polo
Australian water polo league: 1999-2003 NZ Stingrays: Missed play-offs in 2003 by one game.
