Maor Lauds Breakers' Top Two Finish

New Zealand has secured the second seed in the Playoffs, with coach Mody Maor praising the Breakers for reaching a goal that every team has strived for all season.

A dramatic transformation from last season has seen the Breakers go from a 5-23 record and finishing in last place, to clinching a top two spot on an 18-10 record. The Breakers punched their Playoff ticket with an 80-75 win in overtime against the Brisbane Bullets in their final regular season game.

“The core of it is me being blessed, having an incredible group of people around me from coaching staff to players...who care about the right things, who bought into everything we wanted to do, and who give it everything they’ve got,” Maor said.

Although the Bullets made it a tough ride for the Breakers leading into overtime, the New Zealand side’s winning mindset came through and shined in the extra period.

Breakers veteran Tom Abercrombie said the goal of finishing top two was to give back to their home fans for their persistence and support after what was a tough two years.

“I’m really happy that we put ourselves in this spot for us, for everyone in the organisation, for everyone back in New Zealand,” he said.

“You could see how much it meant after that game and how much we wanted it. It’s huge for us.”

Not only have the Breakers locked in home court advantage for the Playoffs, but they gain extra time for preparation, as they await their opponent, which will be the winner of the Cairns Taipans v Tasmania JackJumpers game.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is what it means to the <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NZBreakers</a> to return to play-off basketball ? <a href="https://t.co/hEyyc6aUm4">pic.twitter.com/hEyyc6aUm4</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1621833191945543680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“Absolutely huge to complete from the regular season, complete that turnaround and finish in second place and secure a home court advantage is just massive. It means a huge amount to all of us,” Abercrombie said.

“It’s great to tick that first goal off, we get a little bit of time now to reset.”