KEY POINTS:
There are few more impressive sights in the NBL than Mika Vukona arcing through the air and jamming a basketball emphatically through a hoop.
The Suva-born, Tauranga-raised forward's aerial ability used to be a thing of fleeting beauty; a lightning strike that disappeared as quickly as it flashed
across the sky, not to reappear until the atmospheric conditions were just right.
These days Vukona's showstopping athletic exploits are becoming a regular attraction at Breakers games.
Having progressed from promising development player in 2003/04 to a front-of-the-bench regular and occasional starter, the 25-year-old is making his mark on a league in which he is beginning to feel at home.
When influential import Rick Rickert went down with a dodgy back, Vukona found himself not only thrust into the Breakers' starting line-up, but forced to pick up the mantle of the team's leading rebounder.
As well as the dunk, rebounding is an art at which Vukona excels.
But at 1.98m and 90kg, Vukona is small for a forward. He makes up for it with one of the best vertical leaps in the league backed by a combative attitude. If his approach to the game is at times bruising, it's because it has to be.
"When you are banging against guys who are six [foot] 10 it takes its toll, but you've just got to find a way," he says.
Vukona's fortunes have mirrored those of his team - both club and player are having a breakthrough year in the NBL.
If they can rebuild after losing both their imports mid-season, the Breakers are a good chance of making the playoffs for the first time.
With a 9-7 record just past the halfway point of the season, the club is on pace to win more regular season games than it loses for the first time in its brief history.
Vukona's stats are also on the up.
He is playing more minutes, scoring more points and dragging in more rebounds that ever before.
He is also making his mark on the club's all-time records. The 13 rebounds he took against the Kings last Thursday took him past the 600 mark and left him trailing only Ben Pepper; he is 10th on the scoring charts with 499 points; and seventh in assists with 106.
He agrees that it has been a breakthrough year but his satisfaction is tempered by the team missing Rickert and point guard Wayne Turner.
"I guess my time has come, I guess everything is just falling into place for me personally. But the team, with the loss of Rick and Wayne, we've got to start all over again."
He might have emerged as a more dominant figure but he knows he is not yet the finished article. He attributes the quiet patches between explosions of endeavour to an occassional bout of nerves, and the fact he is still finding his feet as a starter.
"I've never seen myself as a streaky player. It is something I've tried not to do. I've got to try to become more consistent, like somebody like Kirk [Penney]. He is consistent all the way through But I'm pretty happy with the way things are going. You always want to do better and you are always looking at which step you can take to better yourself."
He won an NZNBL title with Nelson this season - the club he joined at the invitation of Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic in 2000 - but next year he will play his domestic basketball for Harbour Heat.
At that level he will expected to dominate in the paint but at the highest level he believes he will need to make a positional switch..
"Internationally I think I have to start moving out. With the Tall Blacks this year in Europe I found that I was just too small to be playing at four, so I need to work at that three spot."
He'll need to improve his outside shooting and become more of a scoring threat but he hashinted at the ability to do that.
Having suffered through the lows with the Breakers, being part of a successful team was making for a nice change.
"It's bloody awesome. You work hard and you don't mind putting in the extra effort. When you are getting those wins it makes things a whole lot easier. The guys are happy and the crowds are coming through, which makes a big difference as well."
