- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Adelaide 36ers 90
New Zealand Breakers 71
A dominate performance for the final three quarters has seen the Adelaide 36ers take a 19-point win to open their 2015-16 NBL season over the New Zealand Breakers at the Adelaide Arena in front of a solid crowd.
For the 36ers, there was no going past the impact of Matthew Hodgson tonight who was absolutely fantastic. He led the 36ers in most of the different stat departments, scoring 18 points, getting 9 rebounds and making 3 blocks. He was backed up by the likes of Ebi Ere who blew the game open in the second quarter.
After an incredibly sloppy first quarter where neither team could find any sort of rhythm and the shooting percentages of both sides were way below par, the 36ers decided to turn it on during the second quarter, mainly thanks to Ere.
They outscored the Breakers an incredible 32 points to 9 during the second quarter and ran away with the game, Ere knocking down what seemed like every shot he looked at.
The Breakers were not helped by their incredibly poor long range shooting percentage, and having many of their stars including Cedric Jackson in foul trouble, regularly forcing him to the bench during the second and third quarter.
At half time the Breakers were down by 21 and never really looked like getting back into the game. Throughout the third and fourth quarter there were various times they looked to be slowly working back into the game, however would then have a bad minute or two and the lead would blow out.
Generally, whenever the Breakers would start to come back, Matthew Hodgson would step up and carry the 36ers back into the lead with the help of Daniel Johnson throughout the second half.
Charles Jackson stood up during the second half for the Breakers, as did Reuben Te Rangi and Shane McDonald though to make the contest interesting at times.
All in all, an awesome win for the 36ers tonight to open their season.
The 2015/16 NBL season gets underway as the Adelaide 36ers host defending premiers the New Zealand Breakers looking to avenge their semi-final defeat at the Adelaide Arena. Join The Roar for live coverage from 7:15pm (AEDT).
Last season both clubs made the top four, with the Breakers finishing second and the 36ers third. They met in the semi-finals with the Breakers dismantling the 36ers in two games, before going on to take out their fourth NBL title in five years.
Both sides’ preseason form has been short of expectations, due in part to the emergence of Melbourne United, who took out the NBL Blitz in Townsville.
Still, the Breakers only managed to win one from three games, dropping games to the Perth Wildcats and Cairns Taipans, and recording an unconvincing victory over the lowly rated Townsville Crocodiles.
The 36ers have continued to develop an excellent roster coming into this season. Retaining most of their 2014-15 squad, they have also added imports in the hugely talented Ebi Ere and Kenyon McNeail.
Ere was one of the most exciting players in the NBL before his clubs – the Brisbane Bullets and then the South Melbourne Dragons – folded, leaving him with no choice but to play in Europe. Now back in the NBL at the age of 34, he has still been putting up big numbers and could prove to be the missing link for the 36ers this season.
The Breakers have lost star shooting guard Corey Webster, who signed a non-guaranteed NBA contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, meaning he is required at a training camp in Virginia and will miss at least the first part of the NBL season.
While that is a massive blow for the Breakers, they still have plenty of talent on which to rely, having retained much of their roster from last year, although they did lose Thomas Abercrombie to injury. Still, Cedric Jackson, Mika Vukona and new recruits Charles Jackson and Shane McDonald will give them a big boost.
Prediction
The loss of Webster is going to be huge for the Breakers, and they will struggle to match it with the 36ers.
36ers by 18.
Join The Roar as we bring you live coverage of the opening match in the 2015-16 NBL season from 7:15pm (AEDT), and don’t forget to leave your comments below as the match progresses!
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde