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SYDNEY - Now comes the hard part as the New Zealand Breakers chase three consecutive victories and position themselves for a charge at their first Australian National Basketball League playoff appearance.
The Breakers, with their American import Carlos Powell in dominant form, face the top-of-the-table Bullets in Brisbane tonight to start a crucial period of nine away games in their next 11.
It will define their season and show whether they have the goods to make the top-eight playoffs after back-to-back home wins over Adelaide and West Sydney.
"We're going into a tough stretch so this is an important time for us to solidify our season I guess," said coach Andrej Lemanis from Brisbane.
"If we can stay somewhere near this 50 per cent win-loss record it'll put us in a good position to make a run towards the end of the season."
After their 116-104 win over the Razorbacks at North Shore on Wednesday the Breakers are eighth on the points table with six wins from 13.
But the jury is still out on their away record, with just one win from four on the road this season.
Lemanis said the draw had worked kindly for the Breakers so far as they struggled for team cohesion early on with Tall Blacks players returning from world championship duty and new imports Powell and Brian Wethers fitting in.
It seems nothing beats the feeling of consecutive wins as a team hit the road.
"It's done a lot for our confidence and the feel of the group," Lemanis said.
- NZPA
