SUNDAY saw the continuation of Round 7 of the National Basketball League (NBL)’s 2021/22 season, with fans treated to some exciting action across the courts. The final match of the day saw the New Zealand Breakers claim an unlikely win over the Sydney Kings when the two sides faced off at Qudos Bank Arena. Prior to last round, the Breakers were yet to claim a win this season, and were facing the toughest circumstances of any team in the league. However, they took down the Cairns Taipans in Round 7 and have backed up this performance with a remarkable showing against one of the competition’s finals contenders.

Things looked ominous for the Breakers early in the match, as they found themselves on the receiving end of an opening quarter blitz from the Kings. This form would not continue over the next three quarters, with New Zealand fighting back to make things interesting. With the match separated by just five points heading into the final term, the Breakers still faced quite an uphill battle, especially given the fact that the Kings had produced the stronger third term. However, it was the visitors who delivered arguably their strongest term of the season, completely outplaying their opponents to storm home in remarkable fashion. The New Zealand players made big shot after big shot as they came through on both ends of the court, and showed the ability to perform under pressure in clutch situations. This is a side functioning on belief as they look towards their third win of the season, and appear to be getting better on a weekly basis.

Leading the scoring for the Breakers in typical fashion was Jeremiah Martin, who has been magnificent in his side’s two wins. Against the Kings, Martin came off the bench for a whopping 22 points, four rebounds and four assists, doing most of his damage inside the three-point line. He was crucial in keeping his side in the contest for the first three-quarters, despite the team play that was poor at times. Teammate and skipper Finn Delany also impressed, finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds. The Breakers’ captain hit some big shots down the stretch, and put his emotion fully on display when the result was sealed. Peyton Siva continued his strong run of form, pouring in 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in an eye-catching outing.

The Breakers shot more efficiently across all three categories (field goal percentage, two-point percentage and three-point percentage), so there is no surprise that they emerged victorious in this match. While the Kings won the rebounding battle, it was New Zealand who made the most of their opportunities with ball in hand. Another crucial stat won by the Breakers was the turnover battle, with the victors conceding seven less than their opponents, which was telling in the end.

Stats	NZL
FG	31/74 (41%)
2P	21/38 (55%)
3P	10/36 (27%)
FT	10/14 (71%)
REB	41
AST	15
STL	7
BLK	2
TO	8