OVERCOMING the biggest road trip in the National Basketball League (NBL), the Perth Wildcats claimed their first win of the 2025/26 season by defeating the New Zealand Breakers at Spark Arena on Saturday evening.

Both teams came into the clash searching for their first win of the fixture after sustaining losses in the opening week of play. The Wildcats fell against the Tasmania JackJumpers in Round 1, while the Breakers were bested by the Brisbane Bullets and Melbourne United, so this clash was crucial for getting one of these teams back on the board.

A wild fourth quarter saw plenty of momentum swings, but it was the Wildcats who stormed home to victory with a match-winning scoring run, claiming a nine-point win in dramatic fashion across the Tasman.

New Zealand Breakers (78) def. by Perth Wildcats (89)

After a tight affair in the opening minutes of play, Ben Henshall was injected into the game and made an immediate impact, dropping eight points in quick succession to give the Wildcats the upper hand after a see-sawing start to the contest. The visitors led 25-17 at the first change and had snatched the energy out of Spark Arena.

The Breakers were able to chip into the deficit in the second frame, and ensure Perth was unable to put the game to bed prior to the main break. However, New Zealand could not quite slow down the production of big man Jo Lual-Acuil as Perth’s big recruit controlled the paint, ensuring his side still led by two points at the conclusion of the first half.

Perth continued to stay in control of proceedings in the third frame, not allowing the Breakers the chance to bring the crowd into the game and keeping their noses in front. After three quarters, the Wildcats still held a three-point buffer, seemingly having an answer for every run the Breakers made as the final period approached.

The final quarter was the most unpredictable terms of the season to date, with the Breakers blowing the game wide open after three-quarter time. The home side went on an astounding 15-0 run to snatch control of the contest as the Wildcats could not buy a basket, going scoreless for nearly three minutes in what looked like it was going to be a defining period.

However, the Wildcats flicked a switch once they did find the bottom of the net, going on a remarkable 17-0 run of their own to close out the contest, including an individual stretch of seven unanswered points from Kristian Doolittle to seal the result in incredible fashion.

Lual-Acuil was the leading scorer with 21 points on 7/11 shooting from the field to go with eight boards, while Dylan Windler posted a massive double-double of his own with 20 points and 15 boards to control the skies. Doolittle’s final term was instrumental in the result of the game, and he finished the contest with 16 points, six rebounds and three dimes.

For the Breakers, it was NBL Next Star Karim Lopez who did a lot of the heavy lifting offensively, dropping 14 of his 16 points in the first half, including a three-point play that showed his physicality, while star point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright was productive with 18 points and five assists.