AUS/NZL - Penney, Breakers make a statement

AUCKLAND (NBL) - Kirk Penney has returned to the form that saw him among the best players at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and the New Zealand Breakers have consolidated second position on the NBL ladder with a comprehensive 100-79 win over the Gold Coast Blaze in Auckland.

Following his standout performances in Turkey, Penney was invited to camp with the San Antonio Spurs. After the Spurs declared they did not have a roster spot for the 196cm shooting guard, he spent the next week canvassing other NBA clubs.
Upon finally returning to New Zealand, Penney was off to Italy one week later to be best man at his brother’s wedding. His two games either side of that trip yielded a total of 24 points at just 8/28 from the field.

After their 5-0 start had been spoiled by two big losses to fellow contenders Perth and Wollongong, there had been media speculation that Penney’s coming and going was a disruption to the team. But the Breakers came out ready to make a statement against the Blaze and Penney led the way, recording 24 points on 4/8 from long range to go with 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

The Breakers (6-2) were also well served by Penney’s partner in crime CJ Bruton (14 points, 4/8 3pfg, 3 assists in 15 minutes), Gary Wilkinson (14 points) and young Kiwi rising stars Thomas Abercrombie and Corey Webster (11 points each).

Former UNICS Kazan import Ira Clark showed some promising signs for the Blaze (2-5), recording 19 points on 6/8 shooting, while Australian internationals Mark Worthington (20 points) and Adam Gibson (12 points, 8 assists) also performed well.

The community owned Cairns Taipans (5-2) moved to third place on the table with a stunning 72-64 win over the defending champion Perth Wildcats (5-4) in front of another capacity crowd in Perth.

Import Ayinde Ubaka (18 points, 3/11fg, 6 assists) shook off a poor shooting night to nail 8/8 free throws in the last quarter to secure the tense victory in the NBL’s most hostile environment. Dusty Rychart was excellent with 14 points and 7 rebounds, while former Rouen import Ron Dorsey threw down one of the dunks of the season on his way to 13 points.

For Perth, only the in-form Shawn Redhage (14 points, 6 rebounds) and former junior international Matthew Knight (11 points, 13 rebounds) were able to impact on the committed Taipan defence.

The league’s other community owned team, the Wollongong Hawks (7-1) remain on top of the ladder, after erasing a 51-40 half time deficit to record an emphatic 89-72 win over the Sydney Kings (1-5) in front of 4357 home fans.

Import Gary Ervin continued his sparkling NBL debut, becoming just the second player to record 30 points this season. Ervin racked up 31 points on 12/20 shooting, while Oscar Forman again provided great support with 18 points and 8 rebounds.

For Sydney, rising star Julian Khazzouh was again a lone hand with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, further pushing his claim for a Boomers spot for the 2011 FIBA Oceania Championship.

In the other game of the round, flamboyant import Corey Williams returned to his former stomping ground in Townsville, but his Melbourne Tigers (1-7) were embarrassed, suffering a 94-66 thrashing at the hands of the rampant Crocs (5-3).

With 3791Townsville fans watching, home grown shooting guard Michael Cedar exploded for a career high 31 points on 6/11 three point shooting. Former Georgia Tech star Luke Schenscher (23 points, 8/11fg, 7 rebounds in 20 minutes) was also outstanding, as he and recent St Mary’s graduate Ben Allen (8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks) easily won their dual with the Tigers trio of seven footers.

Cameron Tragardh was the Tigers’ best with 15 points, while Williams had a ‘homecoming’ to forget, scoring 13 points but on 5/13 shooting and with 7 turnovers.

Paulo Kennedy
FIBA