Penney key as Breakers eye NBL history

 

By Chris Barclay, 26 Apr 2011 Chris Barclay is a Roar Guru

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 Basketball, Kirk Penney, NBA, NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS, Tall Blacks

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The New Zealand Breakers bristle at suggestions their roster is essentially a one-man band, but their hopes of securing a historic NBL championship on Friday appear inextricably bound to Kirk Penney.

The Tall Black guard’s 25-point haul in Auckland last Wednesday propelled the Breakers to a resounding 85-67 victory over the Cairns Taipans in game one.

But Penney was hemmed in by the Taipans to such an extent in Sunday’s game 2 double overtime thriller in Cairns that he had only had six on the board with 30 seconds of regulation time remaining and the hosts went on to triumph 85-81.

By restricting Penney – who had to settle for 12 points after missing all five long range attempts and eight from 12 from the field – the Breakers were a poor imitation of the side that arrived confident of wrapping up the series and being anointed as the first New Zealand team to win an Australian run sporting competition.

Instead the Taipans’ dream of winning their first title remains alive – they will be seeking to orchestrate another upset in the decider at Auckland’s North Shore Events Centre on Friday.

Penney did provide some valuable points as the game two contest transformed into an epic after three uninspiring quarters – two free throws with 5.8 seconds left in the first period of overtime gave the Breakers a three point lead at 73-70 and almost reason to celebrate.

However, Cairns showed greater composure when their season was on a knife edge as Ron Dorsey, Ayinde Ubaka, Daniel Dillon and Ian Crosswhite all sunk crucial baskets to close out the win.

Dorsey produced a game high 22 points; Kevin Braswell recovered from an uninspiring start to contribute 18 for the Breakers.

CJ Bruton supplied only nine though a three-pointer with 3.6 seconds left in regulation was immense as it it tied the scores at 61-61 to ensure the players worked overtime.

Penney’s output was a focus post-match and Breakers head coach Andrej Lemanis was quick to cut his star some slack.

“I think that (Penney’s contribution) was a function of our offence and the 19 turnovers,” he said.

“In the first half we played a little anxious and didn’t let the ball do enough work for us. As a result he didn’t get some of the looks we’d normally get for him. In the second half it opened up a bit.”

The Breakers took an early flight out of Far North Queensland on Monday and were still in a bullish mood despite dropping their first game to the Taipans this season after four previous wins.

Retirement-bound captain Paul Henare doubted the Taipans had caused any lasting psychological damage.

“It’s disappointing but we move on. The biggest thing for us now is recovery and taking care of our bodies and making sure we’re doing all the right things so we’re good to go on Friday.”

Meanwhile, Taipans head coach Aaron Fearne said his side would return to the NSEC without fear after addressing one deficiency from game one.

Hammered 38-29 on the boards last week, the Taipans hung tough to haul in 48 rebounds, just one less than the Breakers.

Dorsey led the way with nine while Dillon, who was held five days ago, atoned for that anonymous effort with eight rebounds and 10 points.

“We had to keep them off the glass and we obviously took care of that. If we can beat them on the glass in game three we’re a chance of winning,” Fearne said.

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