Basketball: Breakers reject prediction of heartbreak

Paul Henare has dismissed a poll of Australian NBL coaches that predicts another season of heartbreak for the Breakers.

The New Zealand franchise, on the cusp of its fourth Aussie NBL campaign, has been tipped to mirror its modest 2005-06 performance and finish in ninth place on the table, one shy of the cut-off mark for the play-offs.

Asked to predict the finishing order of the 12 teams, the majority of head coaches forecast a title win for the Melbourne Tigers ahead of the Brisbane Bullets, but chose the Breakers, Townsville, West Sydney and Singapore to fill the last four positions.

The first round of the new season starts tonight when Adelaide begin their campaign in Singapore, although the Breakers have to wait until Tuesday to start their campaign, against Melbourne's South Dragons at the North Shore Events Centre.

Henare, the team's captain and point-guard, was philosophical about the latest prediction poll, saying it was a meaningless promotional gimmick and that nobody at the Breakers would be losing any sleep over it.

But he conceded that, after three seasons of underachievement, it was up to the team to prove all the doubters wrong.

"With our track record, it's probably understandable that outsiders would think like that," he said yesterday.

"But from where I stand, I can see a much better team this year and I think we will qualify for the playoffs.

"We've recruited well during the off-season, we've got more scoring threats than last year, and we've been encouraged by our development in the pre-season."

To calculate the final rankings, teams were given 12 points for a first place selection, 11 for second, 10 for third and so on, reducing down to one point if they were chosen to finish last.

The Tigers finished as overwhelming favourites with 134 points after collecting five title and five runners-up predictions, the Bullets (three first-place selections) were next with 115 points, just ahead of Cairns and Sydney (113 points each).

According to the pollsters, the lowest any coach had the Tigers ranked was fourth.

There were also some ominous signs for the Breakers in terms of their season opener against the South Dragons, who - like the Slingers - are making their NBL debut.

Not only did the coaches tip the Dragons to make the play-offs in their first season, they also earmarked teenaged swingman Joe Ingles as the player most likely to have an impact on the championship in his maiden year.

The only Breakers mentioned in dispatches were import Brian Wethers and Australian centre Ben Pepper, who received light support when it came to coaches predicting their All-NBL first team.

Wethers gained two votes and Pepper one.

Pepper also received one vote - presumably from Breakers boss Andrej Lemanis - for selection in an all-Australian NBL team.

To make matters worse for the Breakers, they were yesterday picked to finish in tenth place by the New South Wales TAB Sportsbet market, just ahead of Singapore and the South Dragons.

The Auckland-based side were paying $34 to win the title, with the shortest odds going to defending champions Melbourne and Brisbane (equal favourites at $3.25), and the Sydney Kings at $5.

Coaches' call

1. Melbourne Tigers 134
2. Brisbane Bullets 115
3. Cairns Taipans 113
4. Sydney Kings 113
5. Wollongong Hawks 84
6. Perth Wildcats 73
7. Adelaide 36ers 70
8. South Dragons 69
9. NZ Breakers 54
10. Townsville Crocs 47
11. West Sydney Razorbacks 32
12. Singapore Slingers 31