The New Zealand Breakers began their NBL title defence in style on Thursday night, easily running over the top of the Wollongong Hawks at Auckland’s Vector Arena.
Breakers coach Dean Vickerman kicked off his new job with a comprehensive win after replacing newly appointed Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis in the off-season.
The Hawks took a two-point lead into quarter time, but completely lost control of the contest in the second quarter when Corey Webster and Tom Abercrombie combined for a couple of threes as part of a 10-0 run.
Another 11-0 run after the half blew the margin out to 20 points and ensured a perfect season opener for the three-peat Breakers.
Led by veteran Daryl Corletto, New Zealand’s 12-24 effort from downtown set Wollongong an impossible task to match over the 40 minutes.
Corletto and Abercrombie finished with 19 points apiece.
“We struggled to defend anyone in the first quarter,” said Vickerman. “But the scoring kept ticking over and we locked down on our defence a bit after that.
“We’re a team that can be fairly loose offensively. I don’t feel like I need to give them much structure.
“It was nice to have a little patch where we had a few stops in a row and Dazz (Corletto) heated up from the three-point line to provide a bit of a margin.”
In other NBL news, the Adelaide 36ers will be without import Jarrid Frye in Friday night’s matchup against champion contenders Perth.
Frye injured his ankle during Wednesday’s final practice session.
“Jarrid didn’t travel with the team,” Sixers general manager Dean Parker said.
“Daniel Sims, one of our development players, has gone in his place and we’re hoping Jarrid will be right for our first home game next week.”
Captain Adam Gibson is also not expected to play due to a nagging hamstring issue.
Get amongst CraveOnlineAU on Twitter and Facebook for daily sport, music, entertainment and gaming news.
Follow Robert White on Twitter @RobertWhitebrrr.
Phil Walter, Getty Images.
