Basketball: Tough night for Breakers

Corey Webster led the Breakrs with 16 points. Photo / Getty

Breakers 76
Taipans 85

The positivity surrounding the Breakers' fast start to the season took another hit tonight, being edged by the table-topping Cairns Taipans.

After beginning what they hope will be a bounce-back campaign with wins over both of last year's finalists, the Breakers slipped to 2-2 on a tough night at the North Shore Events Centre.

The home side's offence was again out of sorts and, with none of the Breakers' key men taking charge of proceedings, the Taipans' team game saw them run their record to 5-0 on the new season.

A 29-15 advantage in the third quarter proved decisive for the visitors and, although they briefly threatened, the Breakers were unable to complete the desired comeback as the clock wore down.

"We just dried up for that five minutes," coach Dean Vickerman said after his side endured a 2-17 run to start the third. "They got some easy baskets as we were faltering at the other end.

"I thought our effort and intensity was so much better than last week but we just dried up offensively."

Following that setback against Melbourne on Sunday, tonight's defeat left the true quality of these Breakers in question. Will they be the side that survived a fierce fightback from defending champions Perth on opening night or the one that could never quite kick into gear for a second straight game?

The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle but the Breakers' fortunes will certainly be improved if they can halt this slide when they visit Wollongong on Sunday.

If they wish to avoid a third loss on the trot, the Breakers will need to make improvements on both ends of the floor. Only a poor shooting display from Cairns prevented further damage, while the Breakers were deficient with ball in hand, failing to find penetration when the outside shot refused to drop.

Just like the defeat in Melbourne, the Breakers started slowly and were eventually out-rebounded, turning over the ball too often and making a miserable 14 of 24 foul shots.

They struggled without an influential individual contribution, with Cedric Jackson experiencing a quiet night as he battled standout Taipans import Scottie Wilbekin. The first-year guard out of the University of Florida enjoyed the better of the match-up to grab 24 points and nine assists while Jackson was held to 10.

Rhys Carter turned in an impressive all-round display off the bench, finishing with 14 points and playing lock-down defence, while Corey Webster warmed up as the game wore on to collect 16 and again lead his side.

The added impetus provided by Carter helped the Breakers overturn an early deficit to lead by six at the half, before the Taipans began the third quarter in decisive fashion.

The Breakers found themselves trailing by eight heading into the final period and, seeing off an attempted fightback, Cairns calmly closed out the game to earn effusive praise from Vickerman.

"They're the best team in the league by a long way from what we've seen so far."

Breakers 76 (Webster 16, Ibekwe 15, Carter 14)
Taipans 85 (Wilbekin 24, Weigh 20, Tragardh 10)
HT: 38-32