After coming from behind to defeat the bottom team Illawarra Hawks 91-81 at the WIN Entertainment Centre, the New Zealand Breakers moved into second place in the NBL standings. With the win, the Breakers now share a 17-10 record with Cairns and are second in the standings on points percentage.

Now with one game remaining in the regular season, the Breakers have the opportunity to secure a top-two finish and earn the home-court advantage in the playoffs. This would mean bypassing the play-in tournament and going straight to the semi-finals.

The Breakers battled back to win the game despite trailing by 16 points at the half. Barry Brown Jr was amazing in the comeback, finishing with 22 points off the bench.

Jarrell Brantley chipped in with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc, along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

It wasn’t an easy ride at all for the visiting team. The Hawks hero for the last meet up, Tyler Harvey (22 points), kept the home team alive, trailing by just a single point with three minutes to go. However the favourites for the game, the New Zealand Breakers held on for the win.

With 13 points in their lowest-scoring quarter of the season, New Zealand trailed 50-34 at the main break but, with brilliant team efforts, took a 63-59 lead into the final term. They also outscored Illawarra 57-31 in the second half and 29-9 in the third quarter. 

The Breakers’ win also saw them maintain their league-best record on the road, with a 10-3 record away from home. The New Zealand Breakers have come a long way in the past few years, from the bottom of the ladder and now to the brink of securing a top-two finish.

With just one game remaining, the Breakers now have a great chance of securing a top-two finish which is a remarkable accomplishment considering their last-place finish just one year ago.

Coach Mody Maor was pleased with his team’s efforts, despite a slow start. He believes that the character of his boys made the difference in this very important away game.

With one game remaining, Illawarra is now destined for their worst season on record, following their 3-24 record and a loss to New Zealand. Hawks’ co-captain Sam Froling hopes to finish the season with a win over the Tasmania Jackjumpers in their last match. 

In the last match, New Zealand will be hosted by the Brisbane Bullets. A win at Nissan Arena will be enough for them to secure a place in the playoffs.

With their determination and resilience on full display, the Breakers will be a force to be reckoned with as they head toward the end of the season.