NBL: Breakers bid farewell to Launceston

The NBL announced in March the Breakers would play up to six games in Launceston, with $750,000 injected by the state government into the venture.

A year out from the shock announcement of the Southern Huskies departing Tasmania, it appeared the state had found a new New Zealand team to root for.

The Huskies played just one season as Tasmania's team before returning to Auckland, after drawing what were described at the time by Basketball Tasmania chief executive Chris as "underwhelming" crowds to both the Derwent Entertainment Centre and Silverdome.

Fast-forward a year and the state has secured an NBL franchise, a home court and an identity in the JackJumpers.

The Breakers served as a litmus test for professional basketball in Northern Tasmania, and while concerns remain over the viability of the Silverdome as a suitable venue, thousands of Tasmanian basketball fans were able to get a taste of what's to come.

The Breakers' first game came against NBL20 champions the Perth Wildcats.

Drawing a crowd of 1358, the back-and-forth match between the two rivals ended with a thrilling three-pointer from 2020 MVP Bryce Cotton with less than a second remaining to send the game in overtime.

The Wildcats won the game 85-79 and the 1358-strong crowd was in hysterics.

But Breakers captain Tom Abercrombie was louder, venting his frustration after losing what was his 350^th NBL game.

The loss was followed by a comprehensive win over the Brisbane Bullets 91-71 in front of 1559 eager basketball fans.

The least popular game by way of attendance was the Breakers' bout with the Adelaide 36ers; the Monday night match-up only conjured 893 patrons to the Silverdome.

This was in spite of the appearance of league superstar Josh Giddey, who notched a triple-double in the 93-77 loss to the Breakers.

Days later, 18-year-old Giddey declared his intent to enter the 2021 NBA Draft in July.

Bitter losses to the Cairns Taipans (70-68) and Illawarra Hawks (75-67) drew crowds of 1287 and 1097 respectively.

But it was the re-match against the Wildcats that saw the highest attendance of 1621.

And said crowd was treated to another thriller between two of the league's most successful franchises, with recent Breakers signing Levi Randolph shooting from mid-range in the dying seconds with put his team on top 86-84.

New Zealand left Tassie with a record of 3-3.

Aforementioned Randolph joined the Breakers at the beginning of April, and got to grips with his team across their Tassie tenure.

Starting on the bench, the former Alabama Crimson Tide shooting guard didn't take long to start producing for New Zealand.

"Fortunately we have Levi ... we got him and we got him on the longer term," Breakers coach Dan Shamir said after Randolph scored 20 points from the bench against the Bullets.

"That's another angle to the player we like in our system ... he can really impact the game on a lot of fronts."

Fellow guard Finn Delany had a mostly dominant time in Tasmania as well.

In spite of lacklustre outings in the final two games, the 25-year-old led his team in scoring across the six games with 103 total points.

"[I'm] just playing what's in front of me, being in the moment, being aggressive - that's it really," Delany said after the team's win over the 36ers.

Aside from a triple-double against the Bullets, however, point guard Will McDowell-White had a less favourable scoring stint on the Apple Isle.

The 23-year-old averaged just over seven points per game, and converted on 6-29 three point attempts.

He did, however, continue to play a crucial role in transition for the Breakers, leading the team in assists for two Tassie games.

As for being in Launceston, Breakers centre Rob Loe said prior to the team's Taipans match the squad was pleased with the local support.

"It showed from the first game to the second game the support we got, it's been awesome to see them kind of jump on our backs and support us a little bit," Loe said.

Shamir said he was no stranger to Tasmania, having been to Hobart last season for the NBL Blitz and this season for training in Hobart.

"Personally I'm loving it, the people are very nice and we're very happy to be here," Shamir said prior to his departure.

"It's my first time in this city and the foremost important thing was that everyone was really nice.

"I personally love places like this where you don't have a lot of distractions and you can focus on what you want to focus on which for me is my work and basketball."

And while the Silverdome wasn't quite as advantageous at the Breakers' home court: Spark Arena, Shamir said the attendance was still promising for the state's basketball future.

"We have a very strong fan base back in Auckland, but I always look at things in the big picture and I think there's a lot of potential over here for growth for basketball," he said.

"And I think that's the reason why we're here.

"When we had just landed, I went to the supermarket to get groceries, and all of a sudden I was stopped by people that were coming to games that were fans.

"They knew I was Dan Shamir from the Breakers - it's something that doesn't happen to me a lot, which was great ... there's a lot of potential down here."

The Breakers sit at second-last on the NBL ladder with a record of 9-17 with 10 games remaining on the schedule.

While hopes of making the final four are faint, the Breakers will look to build on recent success and gel as a unit for next season.

After about five months away from their loved ones in New Zealand, the Breakers will return home next week.

"I'll be honest ... being in Tasmania out of all the options has been good," Shamir said.

"But for our whole team, this season has been tough because people are away from their home and it doesn't matter how great it is to be here, people need some kind of normality to their lives - seeing family, seeing friends.

"We didn't have that for five and a half months now that you've either been with a teammate or by yourself."

As for Tasmania's team, Shamir said it was part of the NBL's continued growth on a global scale.

"Anybody who loves basketball from all over the world ... has seen the growth of the NBL in the last five or six years - it's been a very dramatic change," he said.

"I think this [the JackJumpers] just adds to it. You see South East Melbourne ... a country like Australia can have many more teams in the professional league.

"The league is smart by doing it step-by-step, and I think a state like Tasmania ... of half a million people which is about the same size as a big city in Europe that has a few teams."