The New Zealand Breakers added to the early-season woes of the Melbourne Tigers, recording an impressive 75-64 NBL win at Hisense Arena on Friday night.
The Tigers continued to search for their identity in 2012/13 and coughed up the ball 21 times while scoring only 18 points in the paint.
New Zealand were led by Cedric Jackson (19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals) and Thomas Abercrombie (20 points, 5 rebounds), with strong support inside from Alex Pledger (7 points, 9 rebounds).
The Tigers battled behind Seth Scott (25 points, 10 rebounds, 7 turnovers), while Chris Goulding and Adam Ballinger surged late to finish with 15 apiece.
Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis was quick to talk up the Tigers, understanding that new teams need time to find their rhythm.
'They've got plenty of talent, but like any new group they're just finding their way,' Lemanis said.
'They'll win their fair share of games this year.
'We're just pleased to get our first win on the road.'
At the other end of the spectrum, Tigers coach Chris Anstey is still searching for his first win as an NBL head coach.
'I don't want to sound like a broken record but this is too tough of a league to play in patches,' Anstey said.
'We can compete with anyone but we haven't seen it across four quarters. It's frustrating.'
No comments:
Post a Comment