Edgar Sosa of the Breakers shoots over the Melbourne defence. Photo / Getty
The New Zealand Breakers' path to a home semifinal has become more precarious after a tense 89-83 defeat to Melbourne United tonight.
Coming into the game in second spot on the Australian NBL ladder, the Breakers have dropped back to fourth following the tight loss – a defeat which saw
them go scoreless in the last six minutes to blow a big lead. It swiftly sums up the competitiveness of the NBL playoff picture, with the top four teams so close that one rough spell can have a big impact on the ladder.
The Breakers now hold a 15-10 record, with Melbourne having built a buffer atop the ladder at 18-7. The two sides are a strong possibility of meeting in the semifinals – something all fans would surely be pleased to see after their most recent battle.
In one of the games of the season, Melbourne came back from eight points down in the fourth quarter to run down the Breakers at the death. It capped off a game which was frenetic from the outset, with the Breakers setting the early running.
Sixteen of Edgar Sosa's 22 points came in the first quarter, as he knocked down four threes to give the up-tempo Breakers an early lead. Rob Loe, inserted after 37 seconds after Alex Pledger copped a knee to the ribs, also found success from deep, while DJ Newbill threw down some thunderous dunks as the Breakers built a double digit advantage.
