BIG MAN Sam Mennenga made his return from injury in the final round of the National Basketball League (NBL) on Thursday evening, starring against his old side as the New Zealand Breakers recorded a big win over the Cairns Taipans.

Losing Mennenga to a wrist injury dealt a cruel blow to New Zealand’s aspirations of making the play-in tournament, and the Breakers have since been ruled out of any postseason action. However, both the center and Next Star Karim Lopez were brought back for Thursday’s clash against the Taipans and the Ignite Cup final against the Adelaide 36ers on Sunday.

The Breakers showed why they were certainly a good shout of making the play-in at full strength, producing a strong display against the Taipans in their final game of the home and away fixture, and cruising home to a 31-point win at home.

Mennenga showed just how important he is to the Breakers’ chances of success, putting forth an offensive masterclass to torch the Taipans and head into Sunday’s first-ever Ignite Cup final with some momentum.

New Zealand Breakers (115) def. Cairns Taipans (84)

Sam Mennenga – 32 points, nine rebounds, three assists

The star big man was a welcome return to the lineup, showing why some of his NBL peers have been describing him as NBA-calibre, absolutely ripping through his former side and adding a new dimension of scoring to New Zealand.

He showed just how much he had missed being on an NBL court, and how much his team had missed his presence, scoring the first eight points of the match to show he can be the number-one scoring option. There are few better players when it comes to rolling to the basket and finishing at the rim, and the Taipans big men stood no chance in slowing him down.

He had 10 points within the first four minutes of the match, and although the Taipans were doing well to keep up with the home side, the Breakers looked a completely different side than they had over the past couple of months, as they found a source of scoring they were able to rely on.

Mennenga was absolutely relentless in the paint, with the Taipans unable to curb his influence in the low block and stop the big man from finding the bottom of the net. It did help having Parker Jackson-Cartwright by his side, with the center and the point guard combining well and the latter finishing the match with 13 assists.

By three-quarter time, Mennenga already had 27 points to his name, and although the game was already likely over, he was again dangerous in the opening few minutes of the final frame to put the game to bed and cap off a career-best night in his return from injury.

He ended the contest with 32 points (the most of his career in a single game) on 15/19 shooting from the field to go with nine rebounds in an old-school inside performance. If he can replicate these feats against Adelaide, New Zealand will be every chance on Sunday.