Breakers overpower 36ers

Updated December 11, 2011 21:35:27

New Zealand forward Gary Wilkinson starred for the Breakers, who overpowered the 36ers 86-73 in Adelaide.

The league-leading Breakers struggled to crack the tough 36ers defence early but Wilkinson eventually unlocked the home side, top-scoring with 30 points.

Fellow import Cedric Jackson (11 points, nine assists, eight rebounds) flirted with a triple-double, while young centre Alex Pledger had 13 points and seven rebounds in just 15 minutes.

Big man Daniel Johnson was the 36ers best with 17 points, while imports Chris Warren and Diamon Simpson both scored 16.

Warren was at his elusive best in the opening minutes, sinking two three-pointers as the 36ers raced to a 10-point lead over the sluggish Breakers.

Wilkinson responded with some sublime shooting of his own, and with the hard-working Jackson and Pledger also getting busy, the visitors trailed 27-23 at the first break.

The second period was a defensive affair until Wilkinson imposed himself on the game, at one point drawing gasps from the crowd with a superb fall-away basket.

But with Warren and Johnson in fine touch, the 36ers continued to match the more-fancied Breaker offence, taking a 45-44 lead into the main break.

Early in the third term, 36ers guard Nathan Crosswell fell awkwardly and the game was stopped while two team-mates helped him off the court. The Breakers seemed to sense their moment, slamming home 12 points without reply.

Sixers forward Stephen Weigh suddenly came to life with some classy finishing inside to keep the home side within a point going into the deciding quarter.

Jackson notched a three-pointer from out wide as the Breakers quickly moved 10 points ahead in the final term, and some pinpoint long-range shooting from Wilkinson saw off the 36ers challenge.

In other Sunday results, the Crocodiles were too strong for Sydney Kings at the Townsville Entertainment Centre, winning 80-69, and Perth defeated the Hawks 98-70 in Wollongong.

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, adelaide-5000

First posted December 11, 2011 19:46:40

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Opals overpower China for clean sweep

Updated July 30, 2011 22:50:09

The Australian women's basketball team proved it has plenty of firepower without star Lauren Jackson, annihilating a near-full strength China 98-72 in Cairns on Saturday night.

After two tough victories in Logan and Townsville earlier this week the Australians had it all their own way to seal a perfect 3-0 series result.

A 12-point run from the Opals in the second-quarter killed the hopes of the visitors with every player clocking good minutes in a display sure to give head coach Carrie Graf confidence heading into Olympic qualifiers in September.

Abby Bishop (20 points) did the damage in the first half before Suzy Batkovic (19 points) took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second in her trademark brutal fashion.

With the game wrapped up Kristen Veal added the icing with back-to-back triples to help nudge the margin to a game high 30.

Lijie Miao was the game's top scorer with 23 points for the Chinese but her efforts could not stop the all-round Australian dominance.

The Australians matched the physicality of the Chinese women but also showed they had pace too, moving well from defence.

Guards Kristen Veal, Hanna Zavecz and Carly Wilson had the Chinese offence worked out in what was their third clash inside a week, managing to grab regular intercepts despite the presence of giant 207cm centre Wei Wei.

Together they stifled the visitors, going on a 12-point run to set up a lead of 17 at the main break.

The Opals tinkered with their line-up from the outset, injecting bench trio Cayla Francis, Jessica Bibby and Batkovic after five minutes.

They were up to the task and helped the Australians take a five point lead into the second quarter.

Opals top scorer Bishop was reluctant to take credit for the win, saying it was a matter of just doing her bit.

"Someone steps up each game, we all do our job and I think we're happy with where we are at as a group leading into these qualifiers," she said.

Graf paid tribute to her side's stamina and depth.

"I think we wore them down a bit in the end," she said.

"Each of these girls is going to be part of the Opals set up, some will definitely be in that Olympic team but some further down the track and they are all showing that they deserve to be there by how they are performing at the moment."

AAP

Tags: basketball, sport, cairns-4870, qld, australia, china

First posted July 30, 2011 21:20:55

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