Undefeated Breakers “feel good”

As the New Zealand Breakers get ready to take off on their NBLxNBA tour, they do so as one of two undefeated sides in the NBL.  

Rookie head coach Petteri Koponen couldn’t be prouder of the way his team has grinded out back-to-back wins, securing close victories over Brisbane and South East Melbourne after almost blowing big advantages in both. 

 “From pre-season day one they’ve been working really hard,” Koponen said following their 81-79 win over the Phoenix.

“It wasn’t always pretty today, but sometimes basketball is like this… and they just found a way.”

It was deja-vu for the Breakers after last weekend’s close finish, where they once again nearly threw away a win in the final moments.

“It wasn’t perfect, we could have closed out the game earlier, but in the end we found a way. Step by step we are learning,” Koponen said. 

“I’m so proud of how we defended today. It was a grind, and we had a great game plan of how we wanted to do it, and it worked.”

It hasn’t just been the close finishes the Breakers have had to overcome, as they reportedly had a disrupted week of preparation ahead of their home opener due to an illness sweeping through the team.

“It was a really difficult week. Most of our team were sick, we only got to practice two days and some only good to go yesterday,” Koponen said.

Superstar guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright once again led from the front with 19 points, seven assists and four steals.

“Early on to win games like this where they’re close and you have adversity in the last minutes, it tells a lot about your team and the character,” Jackson-Cartwright said. 

“We definitely feel good with how we have started.”

With two wins from two games, Koponen understands how important his star guard’s role is within his team.

“It’s his team. He is a superstar of this league. He’s not just one of the best players but he’s our leader.” 

New Zealand now jets off to the USA for games against the Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder before its next NBL contest on October 17.