Breakers Overpower 36ers

Mike Kilpatrick, Sportal
The Harvey Norman NZ Breakers have scored back-to-back home wins, defeating the Adelaide 36ers 116-109 in the Australian Hummer NBL Championship at the North Shore Events Centre.

Most impressive for the home side was import Rick Rickert with 30 points and 13 rebounds and a resurgent Tony Ronaldson, who put a poor opening stanza behind him to score a season-high 19 points

Captain Brett Maher led the way for the 36ers with 27 points and was ably supported by Mike Chappell with 21.

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Forman Gets Aggro

Sweet-shooting Harvey Norman NZ Breakers forward Oscar Forman says his team will be hostile from tip-off in Thursday’s Hummer Championship NBL clash against Adelaide at the North Shore Events Centre.

A win over the 36ers would give the Breakers a 50% record after four home games and pitch them into the top eight, but Forman says they have to overcome the recent trend of letting their opponents get off to a flyer.

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Breakers Need More Time

Mike Kilpatrick, Sportal
Harvey Norman NZ Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis says he may have been expecting too much too soon from his team despite their come-from-behind win against the Townsville Crocodiles on Thursday night.

The Breakers scored their maiden victory in this year’s Hummer Championship NBL season with the thrilling 98-97 victory over the Crocs at the North Shore Events Centre.

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Making The Most

Kiwi centre Sean Marks continues to push for a regular spot in the Phoenix Suns rotation with three strong performances in the NBA pre-season.

In the Suns’ first outing – a 110-99 win over Sacramento Kings – the former Tall Black logged 21 minutes off the bench for 13 points (4/7 FG, 1/1 3pt, 4/4 FT), nine rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist.

In a 106-111 loss to New Orleans Hornets, Marks produced 14 points (6/11 FG, 2/2 FT), seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in 27 minutes.

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Workshop Deadline Extended

Late entries are now available to Basketball New Zealand’s Labour Weekend Coaches Workshop, featuring six presenters who have coached at international level.

Registrations officially closed Monday, but organisers have extended entries right up to sign-in on Saturday morning.

This year’s workshop focuses on coaches across the basketball community with topics aimed at elite, development & participation coaches and the most comprehensive line-up of speakers in the events history!

The workshop will feature key note sessions as well as concurrent sessions aimed at different coaching communities. For the first time this year’s workshop includes a special reduced registration option for participation level coaches.

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Athlete Scholarships Available

Applications are now open for Prime Minister’s Athlete Scholarships, a chance for talented Kiwis to study and develop their sporting talent at the same time.

The scholarships are managed by SPARC and administered by the New Zealand Academy of Sport (NZAS), subsidizing academic fees up to a maximum of $10,000 per annum and living allowances to $6000.

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Kiwis Help Hawks Fly

Kiwi point guards Lindsay Tait and Jeremy Kench helped Wollongong Hawks to their first win of the Australian Hummer Championship NBL, overcoming West Sydney Razorbacks 132-109 at home.

Tait, who missed the Hawks’ previous game with a dislocated shoulder, came off the bench for 10 points (3/5 FG, 4/6 FT), eight assists, two rebounds and a steal in 23 minutes. Kench logged 12 minutes for three points (1/2 3pt), five assists and a rebound.

For the Pigs, Tall Black centre Tony Rampton had 10 points (2/4 FG, 6/6 FT) and three rebounds in 19 minutes.

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Sirens' Heartbreak

The Canberra Capitals saved the best til last in their Australian Defence Force WNBL round-two clash against the Christchurch Sirens, outscoring the visitors 25-9 in the final quarter to post their second victory of the season.

The Capitals fought back from a 14-point deficit to win 76-63 on the back of another strong defensive effort and a game-high 22 points from Canberra’s own Nat Hurst.

The Sirens started the game strongly, but as they did in their losses to the Townsville Fire and the AIS, faded in the last quarter, scoring less than 20 per cent of field-goal attempts and struggling to contain the Capitals - both big and small.

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AIS Awaken From Slumber

The AIS have produced an energetic team performance to reel in Australian Defence Force WNBL newcomers the Christchurch Sirens and record their first win of the new season 82-67 at the AIS Training Hall.

This game had an eerie sameness about it for the first few minutes as the Institute ladies spluttered out of the barrier and Christchurch took advantage to skip to a 9-5 lead that looked likely to keep expanding.

Impressively though, the Institute team rallied itself with a flood of encouraging chatter and support from their bench and when Marianna Tolo reeled off six quick points inside they were back on an even keel.

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X's & O's - Special 1-1-3 Match-Up Zone Defence

By David Blatt, Russian men's coach

Nothing can replace solid fundamentals and strong individual and team defence. But there are players and teams with clear problems in their defensive match-ups or with the inability to deal with the basic defensive situations.

The main reason for these problems comes to the difference in technical and physical skills.

A better strategic approach to this concern can help hide these weaknesses and can change or guin the opponents' offensive flow.

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