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KEY POINTS:
Tonight's do-or-die semifinal against the Melbourne Tigers will be the NZ Breakers' biggest game in the club's history. And if the Kiwi side are to pull off a win and keep their grand final chances alive it will take an equally big reversal of form.
After a demoralising 117-99 defeat to the Tigers in game one of the best-of-three series the task ahead of the Breakers tonight is nothing short of mammoth.
The defending champions, who are looking to secure their fourth straight grand final appearance, looked by far the superior side in Wednesday night's opening clash, out-witting the Breakers in every aspect of the game.
With the Melbourne side rich in talent and experience, it will take a super-human effort from the Breakers to level the series.
Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis admits it is a huge ask, but is confident his side are up to the challenge.
"I think this whole year we've been pretty good when our backs have been up against the wall and I have no doubt that we can come out and perform well tomorrow night," he said.
Forward Tony Ronaldson echoed his coach's sentiments, insisting his side have the goods to beat the Tigers.
But to do so Ronaldson believes his side must make a marked improvement in defence to contain the prolific scoring talents of guards Luke Kendall and David Barlow and import Ebi Ere.
Ronaldson said the Breakers let themselves down in game one, failing to bring the aggression and intensity required to upset the Tigers' rhythm.
"To beat the Tigers we have to play a certain way and we didn't do any of that last night," he said yesterday.
Despite the short turnaround between games, Ronaldson is confident his side can make the necessary adjustments. He said the Breakers proved in last week's big quarterfinal win over the Adelaide 36ers that they have a strong defensive game, and they just needed to apply themselves better.
"I think last night was no different to any game when we've struggled this year - it's just our defence. And I think if we play defence a certain way, then we're a tough team and we find it a lot easier to play offence," he said.
"I think the Tigers showed they're a pretty tough team and a team that are going be very tough to beat in the semifinals.
"But I also think we played in to their hands a little bit and just let them walk all over us. The good thing about this situation is that it's a series, not a one-off elimination game and we get to come home and play at a packed NSEC and hopefully turn the tables."
