THE NATIONAL Basketball League (NBL)’s in-season tournament begins tonight, with the New Zealand Breakers hosting the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena to mark the first match of the Ignite Cup in an exciting milestone for the competition.

The Ignite Cup will see a total of 20 games take place on Wednesday nights across the 2025/26 NBL fixture, competing to take home the majority of the prize pool, which will see the victorious team walk away with $400,000.

Coming into this clash, both sides are still searching for their first win, so it marks a crucial clash for the two clubs. Whichever team emerges victorious at Spark Arena will have their season back on track, while the losing side will continue to play catch up amongst a competitive field.

New Zealand Breakers vs. Illawarra Hawks

Spark Arena
Wednesday, October 8 @5:30pm AEDT

The Breakers have been unable to break through for a win throughout the 2025/26 season to date, and have been on the end of some tough losses during the first few weeks as well, which has seen New Zealand slide down the standings at the conclusion of the most recent round.

The Breakers will be looking to draw on the energy of home court advantage during this clash, but will need to be much more productive on the offensive end if they are to claim a maiden win today, as they have been uncompetitive at times.

One of the biggest keys to success for the Breakers is the performance of Izaiah Brockington, who has been unable to fire in the first few weeks. His preseason performances indicated the import guard had the potential to be one of the best scorers in the 2025/26 season, and if he can get back to that level of form, it will give New Zealand a huge boost on the scoring front.

After a delayed start to the season following participation in an international tournament, the Hawks have lost two matches in a row in a slow start for one of the championship favourites. The reigning champs have been competitive but lost in close encounters, and seem due for a win.

It just is not quite clicking for Illawarra at the moment, and it could be an adjustment to life with JaVale McGee, who was one of the biggest pickups of the offseason. The three-time NBA Champion has been a force of nature in the opening weeks of the season, stuffing the stat sheet and proving a handful for the opposition to stop from scoring.

However, it has not translated to wins as of yet, so he may need some support from some of his teammates in the backcourt. If Tyler Harvey can get going and find his groove on the offensive end, it will go a long way towards Illawarra securing a win.