Basketball: Breakers fined for awards no show

Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis. Photo / Getty Images

The New Zealand Breakers have been slugged with a A$10,000 fine for failing to send nominees to the Australian National Basketball League's awards night in Melbourne on Monday.

Basketball Australia Limited imposed the sanction after none of the Breakers six contenders made the trip from Auckland - a snub management deemed appropriate given their semifinal series with the Perth Wildcats starts tomorrow at the North Shore Events Centre.

The Breakers have appealed the sanction and are expected to make representations to the Basketball Australia board by the end of the week.

Perth, who had three contenders for end of season accolades, also refused to attend and were also fined $10,000.

The financial penalties were imposed because the ANBL's licensing agreement stipulates clubs must send the coach and captain to functions of this nature.

Breakers head coach Andrej Lemanis, who was ultimately overlooked for the coach of the year award, and captain Kirk Penney - a failed contender for the Most Valuable Player award - stayed in Auckland with fellow nominees Dillon Boucher, Kevin Braswell, Tom Abercrombie and Mika Vukona.

Braswell was the only successful Breaker on the night, winning the best sixth man award although Penney and American import Gary Wilkinson were named in the All-NBL first team.

The absence of Penney and Wilkinson put a dampener on the team naming as the defensive player of the year, Perth's Damian Martin, was also absent.

Sydney Kings forward Julian Khazzouh and MVP Gary Ervin (Wollongong) were the only players to take the stage.

The Breakers were represented by chief executive Richard Clarke and chairman Paul Blackwell, a call that did not placate ANBL officials.

Clarke defended the decision shortly before the ceremony got underway saying: "We made it clear two months ago that if the schedule was as it is this week, we would regretfully not commit players or coaching staff to the awards ceremony.

"Originally we were told there would be a full week between the ceremony and the first semifinal, on that basis we would have happily sent those requested and coped with the lost practice and preparation time."

However, scheduling the opening game tomorrow meant the Breakers

would only have one full training session before the biggest game of the club's history.

"Frankly no team with the same desire to win facing the same schedule as us this week would do any different," Clarke said.

- NZPA