Slam dunk: Breakers buoyed by their pre-season performances

By PETER JESSUP

The Breakers are getting the feel for the Australian basketball league and some confidence from their pre-season performance as it indicates they will not be out-skilled when the competition starts next week.

The pre-season means nothing, they know, but a 106-87 win over the Melbourne Tigers this week proves they are in the zone.

The Tigers' star player, Andrew Gaze, 20 seasons in the league, has averaged 32 points during his 543 games. On Tuesday night he was contained to 16.

They will improve with the addition of big Chinese forward Wu Zheng, who is still ironing out immigration difficulties. But the Breakers did not have big men Pero Cameron or Blake Truslove.

Cameron's repair of foot and knee injuries continues on target for a start in the third game of the season, away to Wollongong. Truslove has a broken bone in his right, shooting hand and is expected to make his start for the new franchise in the same match on October 11.

A second of the three Australian "killer Bs", Brad Williams, turned an ankle in training and missed the Tigers game but will be okay for the competition start against Adelaide at the North Shore Events Centre next Wednesday.

Ticket sales for that game and for the season are progressing well and the new organisation has had a relatively trouble-free start-up.

The players and management have taken some heart from the Warriors' progress in the Australian NRL over the past two seasons in particular.

"They're showing it can be done," said Tall Black and Breaker Dillon Boucher.

He was pleased with the game returned by individuals and the team against the veteran Melbourne side.

"Everyone on the court looked like they were meant to be there. The combinations were good. After so much preparation it's very satisfying to get on the court and put things into practice."

Boucher said the Tigers struggled at first to cope with the Breakers' fast-break game. They stuck with a man-on-man defence throughout.

"Maybe they've got some defensive tricks up their sleeve but they didn't show us much.

"But still, our offence was good, things worked as they were supposed to. It's great having a seven-footer (centre Ben Melmeth) as a go-to guy in the middle. They just couldn't guard against him."

Boucher felt the Breakers' depth would be a big advantage, as was the bench depth at Waikato Titans where coach Jeff Green was also in charge.

"It gives us a big advantage in knowing when you come off the next guy up is just as capable," he said. After completing the Titans season, being attached to the team for the home series for the Tall Blacks against Czechoslovakia, the tour to Turkey and the Oceania qualifying series, the season is about to start for Boucher and team mates, not finish, as is usual.

But the excitement of the start-up has lifted them through any feeling of burn-out, the 27-year-old said.

"The body is good, the strength and conditioning work we've done has made a difference. It's been a long year but I feel I'm thriving."

There was no despondency about starting without Cameron.

"We all want him completely right. We don't want him playing at 70 per cent because he's carrying an injury.

"We all know how good Pero can be and we want him at 100 per cent if we're to make the finals and push on."

Boucher predicted an exciting style of play from the side.

Their systems would improve and expand as the injured players came in and they all got to know each other's game, what to expect and how to put themselves in position to push to the common goal.

The Breakers were to play the Victoria Giants in Dandenong last night in their final pre-season run.

* * *

The Tall Blacks and Boomers are two of 11 teams that have cemented a place at the Athens Olympics with the remaining spot to go to the Asian champion after a tournament in China this week.

The Tall Blacks earned two places for the FIBA Oceania zone at the 2004 Olympics when they finished fourth at last year's world championships and are seeded second from Oceania after losing 3-0 to the Boomers at the start of the month.

Hosts Greece and world champions Serbia & Montenegro enjoy automatic inclusion, while others to earn entry are Angola (Africa), the United States, Argentina and Puerto Rico (Americas), and Lithuania, Spain and Italy (Europe).

The last spot will go to the winner of this week's Asian championships, where hosts China will try to regain the title from Korea.

Five women's teams have qualified for Athens, with the Tall Ferns joining Australia (Oceania), Brazil (Americas), world champions USA and hosts Greece. The European women's championships have just begun, while Asian and Africa tournaments will follow in December and January.

* * *

The Philadelphia 76ers have re-signed bad-boy Allen Iverson for a further four years for US$76 million.

Iverson was contracted through next season as part of his existing US$28m deal but the extension keeps him in the steel city until the end of the 2008/09 season.

Iverson averaged 27.6 points last season. Philadelphia had a 48-34 record to advance to the second round of the finals.

* * *

Tall Blacks video analyst Murray McMahon and former national team captain Stan Hill will run another "Big Man Camp" for promising players at Morrinsville in January.

The training programme is limited to 30, the restriction being that under-16 players must be at least 6'5" and over-16s 6'6". The camps have thrown up several new players for national squads and NBL teams.

* * *

The Australian National Basketball League has appointed former Australian Formula One director Mal Hemmerling as chairman. Hemmerling was an organiser for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was a director of cabinet for the South Australian state government.