New Zealand Ready to Break Melbourne Momentum

Saturday, January 28, 2023

The New Zealand Breakers are heading into Saturday’s game against Melbourne United with confidence and hunger.

United are rolling as they chase a finals spot, entering New Zealand on a five-game winning streak.

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But the Breakers are just one win off second spot after Thursday’s 99-71 victory against the Brisbane Bullets and eager to secure a spot in the finals.

“We’re ready,” New Zealand coach Mody Maor said.

“We’re pushing to win the next game, if that’s enough to get into the top two then fantastic. If it was enough to make the top three of four and make the playoffs it’d be fantastic too.

“For us to play basketball in February and meaningful games and compete, is everything we want to do. So we’re really looking forward to finishing the job, and hopefully we get a shot.”

The Breakers have three games left in the regular season, with a 15-10 record.

To say they've come a long way from last year is an understatement. They finished with just five wins for the entirety of NBL22.

Key to that resurgence, import Barry Brown Jr, who is building up his game-time after a groin injury.

“It’s a mental thing, coming back from injury it’s always tough,” Brown Jr said.

“That time I was out we were able to put together a plan to get me back healthy as soon as possible and I’m so grateful to be back playing.”

Brown Jr also spoke about the significance of the battle with United.

“It’s a super big game and they’ve beaten us twice,” he said.

“We need to come ready to battle for sure.

“They’re trying to win every game; we’re trying to win every game. So it’s definitely going to be a good game. We’re looking forward to it.”

Tip-off between the Breakers and United is at 5:30pm AEDT.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Breaker Nation <br><br>We are here at Spark Arena with the team, evaluating whether we can safely go ahead with tonight's game. <br><br>We will keep you posted as soon as we know <br><br>? stay safe<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNBREAKABLE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNBREAKABLE</a> <a href="https://t.co/ENgCCcgMeO">pic.twitter.com/ENgCCcgMeO</a></p>— Sky Sport New Zealand Breakers (@NZBreakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers/status/1619098845492973568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>