Mennenga returns to torch former side

The New Zealand Breakers will head into the Ignite Cup by Disney+ Final in some ominous form after Sam Mennenga returned with 32 points from a fractured wrist as they wrapped up NBL26 regular season beating the Cairns Taipans 115-84.

Mennenga was expected to miss the rest of the season when he fractured his wrist in a nasty fall under the basket against the Adelaide 36ers back on January 23, but he cut that predicted recovery time almost in half.

And he came out a motivated and unstoppable force against his former team scoring the Breakers' first eight points and ended the night with a career-best 32 points, nine rebounds and three assists on 15/19 shooting in the 31-point win at Eventfinda Stadium (formerly the North Shore Events Centre).

Next Star Karim Lopez, a predicted lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, also returned from a leg injury and produced 15 points, six rebounds and two assists in his 25 minutes.

Superstar point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright also had another 19 points and 13 assists while Carlin Davison continued his emergence with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Rob Loe had 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks with New Zealand still having one prize to aim for, when they face the Adelaide 36ers in Sunday's Ignite Cup final on the Gold Coast.

There is a chance both Izaiah Brockington and Tai Webster return for that game as well with a $300,000 prize pool on offer for the winner.

The Taipans finish their season with a 9-24 record and it did look like a team playing their last game after a tough campaign for a lot of Thursday's game in Auckland.

Point guard Andrew Andrews finished with a strong performance made up of 24 points and seven assists with Kody Stattmann producing 20 points and five rebounds on the back of being named for the Boomers for the upcoming FIBA window.

Jack McVeigh didn’t finish the season how he hoped with six points on 3/11 shooting, but he has carried the Snakes through a lot of NBL26 and is already committed to return for a second year in orange.

Mennenga chalked up the Breakers' first eight points and 10 inside the opening four minutes.

At the other end, Andrews had 13 as Cairns drew level at 24-all at quarter-time.

Stattman started the second period with successive threes to help the Taipans move ahead 32-26, before New Zealand seized complete control.

Back-to-back Mennenga dunks highlighted a 9-0 rush, before Davison spearheaded another 10-0 burst for the Breakers, who hit a sizzling 15/19 in a 37-20 quarter while outrebounding Cairns 13-4.

The bouncy Davison poured in 11 for the stanza, including a huge dunk, to push the hosts' advantage out to 61-44 at half-time.

Cairns were breaking down in all areas, outrebounded an implausible 13-4 in the second term and Mennenga continued to wreak havoc in the paint, taking his personal tally to 27 at three quarter-time, by which time the Breakers' buffer had ballooned to 88-66.

The procession continued when Reyne Smith coughed up a turnover which resulted in a three-point play to Mennenga in the opening 20 seconds of the fourth as the Snakes wrapped up their campaign.

The season is now over for the Taipans while the Breakers turn their focus to the first ever Ignite Cup by Disney+ Final on Sunday against the Adelaide 36ers on the Gold Coast.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26 – ROUND 22

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 115 (Mennenga 32, Jackson-Cartwright 19, Davison 15, Lopez 15)

CAIRNS TAIPANS 84 (Andrews 24, Stattmann 20, Smith 13)

BOX SCORE