Fans snap up tickets for Wildcats clash on North Shore

Fans are relishing the prospect of another table topping clash between the two greatest ANBL teams of the past decade, with just a few hundred tickets left for Friday nights clash between the SKYCITY Breakers and Perth Wildcats at North Shore Events Centre.

SKYCITY Breakers General Manager Dillon Boucher says if anything, the international break has been good for fans to take stock of the teams great start to the season, with crowds typically increasing dramatically from about December onwards if past seasons are anything to go by.

"Clearly the fans have responded to the nine-game winning run and are excited about the next phase of the campaign and if you like have been energized by the break and cant wait for tomorrow night.

"It is not unusual however, for our crowds to spike at around this time and to stay high throughout the remainder of the season, certainly this has been the case in our previous championship runs, so lets hope this is a portent of things to come this season. And why not, the team is playing great, entertaining basketball and game night is a great family night out, whether you are into the basketball or not."

The attraction of Perth is also clearly a factor as the two teams that have won the past eight championships between them play for a third time already this season, with the Breakers winning at home and away already in amongst that nine-game run.

Head Coach Paul Henare says the teams know each other inside and out, and the keys to a win are no secret.

"It is always a tough one against Perth, they are here early, we are their one game this weekend, so they have had a lot of time to look at tape and combat what we are doing against each other, so this will be a tough match.

"They are always minor adjustments to make playing against the same opposition back to back. We will be looking at where we can improve and change things up, they will look at areas they do well in and areas where they need to shut us down. They have stepped up and had guys take the scoring burden off Cotton and Tokoto, so we will have to be aware of that as well.

"They had 23 offensive rebounds against Melbourne, that goes a long way to winning that game, and winning it comfortably, that has always been a strength of theirs and one we will have to deal with tomorrow night."

In good news for the Breakers, Kirk Penney made further progress from his back injury and took to the floor at practice today, he will continue to be assessed throughout the next 24 hours leading up to tip off.

Remaining tickets are on sale via the club website, www.nzbreakers.basketball

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand