Hungry Jack's NBL
Maor Excited to Challenge for Kings' Crown
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By Rani Hodges for NBL.com.au
New Zealand Breakers coach Mody Maor says there is nothing he is looking forward to more than battling the Sydney Kings in the Championship Series.
The Breakers advanced after defeating the Tasmania JackJumpers 92-77 in Game 3 of their Playoff series on Sunday.
It sets up a blockbuster New Zealand vs Sydney best-of-five Championship Series and Maor can’t wait to challenge the defending champions.
“There’s nothing in the world that I’m looking forward to more,” Maor said.
“They’re the defending champs, the best team in the league. This is what finals are supposed to be.
“Looking forward to it, a lot.”
It has been an epic turnaround for the Breakers, who have qualified for the decider after a tumultuous two seasons saw them forced out of New Zealand and live out of suitcases due to COVID.
Master coach Maor has engineered the transformation, mentioning they were looking for a particular type of person to restall the club’s culture.
“We knew exactly what kind of people we wanted in the building, that’s where it started,” Maor said.
“The second thing we knew was how we wanted to play, and we brought in people that fit what we want to do on defence and who we want to be as an organisation and as a team.”
For the first time in seven years, the Breakers are into the Championship Series. Breakers’ veteran and captain Tom Abercrombie spoke on the joy of coming full circle with the New Zealand side and his excitement and hunger to tackle the best-of-five championship beast.
“The game has changed a lot in seven years, this is obviously as good a team as we’ve ever had,” Abercrombie said.
“It’s a battle within itself, once you get to a finals series and haven’t been in a best-of-five series either.
“All the series we’ve played have been best-of-three and best-of-five is a different animal.
“Excited to get back on that stage and get a chance to represent this club in the finals series again. It is a really cool moment to come full circle.”
Earlier in the season, Kings coach Chase Buford compared the Breakers to the All-Blacks, due to their physical style of play.
Maor expressd his pride in mirroring the All-Blacks, saying, “anytime somebody compares you to the All-Blacks, it’s the biggest badge of honour there can be”.
“If we can go play like the All-Blacks…humbling,” he said.
Game 1 of the Championship Series between the Breakers and Kings is on Friday the 3rd of March at 7:30pm AEDT at Qudos Bank Arena. Watch the game live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 play, and Sky Sport in New Zealand.
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