KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand Breakers are out to repay their supporters in their final Australian National Basketball League home game against the West Sydney Razorbacks tonight.
With their play-off hopes extinguished with the loss to Brisbane on Saturday, coach Andrej Lemanis said the club's fans were the driving factor for their penultimate match of the season.
"I won't lie, it's been a tough week," Lemanis said.
"The disappointment we're currently feeling has made preparing for tomorrow's game a challenge.
"But the guys want to play well. We've developed a loyal support base and we feel a responsibility to finish the season on a high so that we leave a positive impression."
The Breakers lost 97-104 to West Sydney in Sydney early in the season, despite 31 points from Carlos Powell.
However, the Breakers evened the score in the home encounter in November to beat the Razorbacks 116-104, with Powell and Ben Pepper combining to score 66 points.
Although anchoring the foot of the points table, Lemanis appreciated that the Razorbacks were not about to give the Breakers an easy ride.
"They've done a good job in continuing to play hard, despite being out of play-off contention for some time," Lemanis said.
Meanwhile, Breakers captain Paul Henare says the Breakers Academy, which opened its doors this week, is a vital step for the club in safeguarding its future.
A joint venture between the Basketball Development Trust and the Breakers club, the academy has up to 15 players aged between 15 and 19 involved in a full-time training programme, with up to four trainings per week before school.
Run from the North Shore and headed by Breakers assistant coach Judd Flavell, the academy will play as a team here and across the Tasman in a bid to provide a pathway for graduates to progress into the rosters of the Breakers and Tall Blacks.
Henare says the NBL talent pool has expanded noticeably in recent years and quality young Kiwi players need to be developed early if they're to compete with their transtasman rivals.
Play Ball
Breakers v Razorbacks
* North Shore Events Centre, 7.15 tonight
- NZPA
