The Sky City Breakers were given their Xmas leave immediately after the home defeat to the Perth Wildcats on December 13th. Players and coaches enjoyed a four-day break before heading back to work and preparing for an encounter with the Sydney Kings on Sunday December 29.
The team trained every day except Xmas Day in preparation for a four game away stretch that looks likely to define their season. Currently 4-9, the defending champions can ill afford to come away from the quadruple road run with less than two wins. A worse outcome than that would see the Breakers, even with 7 home games in the last 11 fixtures, struggling to make the top four and an opportunity to win their fourth consecutive title.
Earlier in the week the squad split into two teams to play a full practice game. Alex Pledger and Corey Webster were both unwell and missed a competitive game officiated by NBL refs Dallas Pickering and Tim Brown aided by local official Miguel Gallardo. The Black team of Vukona, Abercrombie, Johnson, Corletto and Jack Salt overcame a single point half time deficit to beat the Blue team of Bruton, Te Rangi, Wilkinson, Bailey and Jarrod Kenny 79-68.
The team enjoyed a good build up to the Sydney trip with a series of good training sessions throughout the week, the only blot on the landscape being an ankle injury sustained by Alex Pledger towards the end of Thursday’s session. ‘The Chief’ had just recovered from an ankle strain but turned his other ankle in an innocuous manner as he made a fade away shot before ending in a crumpled heap on the baseline. Pledger has only missed one game in the past three seasons and his size and presence will be missed against the Kings.
Following the Sydney trip the team will head home before embarking on away journeys to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth on successive weekends in the first part of January.
LACEY LOWDOWN 