KEY POINTS:
The Breakers have scored a minor coup by signing veteran Aussie international Tony Ronaldson for next year's Australian National Basketball League.
Subject to a clearance from the ANBL, the highly regarded Ronaldson, 34, will suit up for the Breakers for the next two seasons.
The 2.03m guard/forward has won more ANBL career games than any other player - with 381. That has come from 576 games, in which he has scored 9117 points since his debut in 1990.
He has played in seven grand finals and been part of two championship-winning teams - in 1992 and 1996.
Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis said having a veteran of Ronaldson's calibre would be of great benefit to the club. "He's a real talent and his basketball knowledge and cunning will be a huge advantage for us," Lemanis said.
"He is great under the basket, can hit the three-pointers and is a smart defender, which will be a real asset in an area we're trying to improve on."
Ronaldson saw the Breakers as a club "on the up" and said he was attracted by the way the team played.
"They're respected around the league but haven't quite been able to put the total package together," he said.
"Hopefully, I'm the first piece in the puzzle to putting together a team that will be competitive on the floor and build on the base set by Andrej.
"We're a good fit in terms of what we want to achieve and the whole signing process happened so quickly because we are excited about the prospect of establishing a great partnership."
Second on the all-time list for games played, including a run of 324 consecutive games, Ronaldson will break the 600-mark during his first season with the Breakers and could even eclipse Andrew Gaze's ANBL record of 612 games if the club make the playoffs for the first time.
"To close in on Andrew Gaze, Australia's greatest ever player, is going to be a really good ride.
"But just because I've played three million games, I don't assume the right to be there. You have to earn your time on the court.
"Andrej has shown faith in me and my actual playing ability and I'm extremely keen to repay that faith and help build a positive culture at the club."
Ronaldson played for the Perth Wildcats in the just-completed season. They finished third in the regular season, helped by three defeats of the Breakers.
During the season, he became just the ninth person in ANBL history to score 9000 career points and is now eighth on the list, averaging 15.8 points per game to go with 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per match.
Lemanis said experience was invaluable in a league as competitive as the ANBL.
"We've been a team with 300 games between our players taking on teams with the experience of 1200 games. Tony has almost 600 games on his own," he said.
"His experience in the league will help the development of our younger guys. He's extremely professional, a good club man and is happy to impart his knowledge to the young guys and help grow their games."
Lemanis heads for the United States today where he will be scouting for talent to fill the two import spots in the 10-man roster. The Breakers' signings to date are Brent Charleton, Aaron Olson, Oscar Forman, Mika Vukona, Tim Behrendorff and Ronaldson.
- NZPA
