Tag Archives: NZ Breakers

Australian guard William McDowell-White has signed a contract with the New Zealand Breakers for the remainder of 2021 NBL season, sources told ESPN.

The 22-year-old has just finished his second season in the NBA G-League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, averaging 3.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists over the 2020-21 campaign, in just less. of 17 minutes per game.

McDowell-White will fill the blank spot on the Breakers list left by Rob Loe, who returned to New Zealand for “personal reasons” in February.

McDowell-White, the 6’5 combo keeper, was recently appointed a member of Brian Goorjian’s 24-man Australian Boomers squad, and has attended training camp with The Houston Rockets for the last two seasons.

The signing marks McDowell-White’s return to NBL, who played the first season of his professional career with the Sydney Kings in 2016.

McDowell-White, a native of Queensland, will join the Breakers team that has been traveling throughout the 2021 season; circumstances that are not expected to change. Coached by Dan Shamir, Breakers currently sits in eighth place on the NBL charts with a 4-7 record.

McDowell-White will leave the United States in the coming days and enter a hotel quarantine in Australia, sources said, before joining the Breakers.

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New Zealand

New Zealand Breakers to set up NBL home in Tasmania | Instant News

March 3, 2021 NewsDesk

The New Zealand Breakers will play a home game outside Launceston later this season as their nomads NBL existence continues.

The Breakers have been in Australia since late last year. They were first based in Melbourne before moving to Hobart, and then returned to Melbourne for the ongoing NBL Cup.

It is hoped the COVID-19 restrictions will ease and they will be able to return to play in New Zealand later this season, but in the meantime Launceston’s Silverdome will be home to up to six games from next month.

The Tasmanian government will invest $ 750,000 to cover operational costs and game days, as well as invest in new permanent infrastructure prior to the arrival of the NBL Tasmanian JackJumpers in 2022.

The Breakers will be involved in clinical and development programs with Basketball Tasmania during their stay in Launceston, in a timely initiative as the state’s push for its own AFL team remains in the headlines.

“Australia recognizes Tasmania’s potential as a player in the national sporting scene and this is another important marker in our plans to secure an elite sport that provides multiple economic and social benefits,” said Tasmanian Prime Minister Peter Gutwein.

NBL boss Larry Kestelman thanked the Breakers for their continued efforts to ensure the season continues and celebrates its step forward into the league’s newest market.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase NBL in Tasmania ahead of the arrival of the JackJumpers next season,” he said.

“We have always said we want basketball to be the number one sport in Tasmania and we thank the prime minister and the Tasmanian government for bringing NBL games to Tasmania this season.”

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New Zealand

Sydney Kings flies NZ Breakers in the NBL Cup | Instant News

February 25, 2021 NewsDesk

The Sydney Kings have piled more woes as the struggling New Zealand Breakers advance to a 96-78 win in the NBL Cup.

The Breakers entered Thursday’s game at John Cain Arena with one win from their opening six games, but hopes of a morale-boosting win vanished following a devastating second-quarter crash.

A promising start saw New Zealand take a 13-point lead but the Kings edged them 26-6 in the second quarter to complete a 23-point turnaround and take a 10-point lead at half-time.

With young guns Jordan Hunter and Dejan Vasiljevic leading the way, the Kings maintained their lead in the second half to celebrate guard Shaun Bruce’s 200th NBL play in fine style.

Hunter made his ninth attempted shot for a career-high 24 points while Vasiljevic (20 points, 10 rebounds) recorded his first NBL double-double.

“Against Perth, we gave up 113 points which is something we didn’t want to do,” said coach Adam Forde after the Kings grabbed their second NBL Cup win and raised their overall streak to 5-5.

“For the most part of the defense, even when other aspects of our game plan are not as clean as we’d like, we can always come back and get a few stops.”

With Lamar Patterson out for four to six weeks with a knee injury, Corey Webster took over the Breakers offense to lead the team with 24 points while brother Tai added 18.

But the nature of their surrender resulted in coach Dan Shamir choosing to avoid commenting on the promising start of the match in his post-match press conference.

“It’s a bit embarrassing for me to talk about the first quarter because it was another game where we weren’t competitive,” said Shamir after New Zealand slipped to a fourth successive loss.

“It really shows that we have some good basketball in us. But it gets harder every day like that but it just means that everyone needs to improve and keep fighting.”

New Zealand opened the game at 12-2 and Corey Webster closed the first quarter with 13 points to give the Breakers a 30-20 lead.

But the momentum shifted as the Sydney defense snatched up during the second period, setting up a 10-0 start, and the Kings pulled out thanks to Hunter’s efficient score under the basket and Vasiljevic’s rebounds and long-range shot.

New Zealand found more chances in the second half but the Kings still managed to extend their lead to 68-55 after three quarters and Casper Ware added 10 points in the final season to finish with 19 points for the game.

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