Breakers centre Sam Mennenga has described his team's recent shock 83-64 defeat to the Tasman JackJumpers as a metaphorical punch in the face, and coach Pettori Koponen has forced his men to confront it head-on by watching a replay of the second and third quarters in full.
In what was a remarkable turnaround for the previously high-flying Breakers on Saturday, the Kiwi team were outscored 19-3 in the third quarter — the visitors' three points the equal second lowest haul for a quarter in league history.
They were outscored 25-14 in the second.
The defeat in Tasman dropped the Breakers to second on the table behind Melbourne United and the manner of it would have been difficult to watch. They were out-worked and out-thought and now must pick themselves up for a tough three-game away stretch starting against the Cairns Taipans on Saturday.
"In basketball terms we got punched in the face," Mennenga told 1News today. "We didn't respond. They came with the pressure. They stuck to their principles and we went away from ours. It was a key learning experience for us."
Mennenga admitted the Breakers had gone into the game on a high after a triumph over Melbourne, the latest in a series of successes.
That run may have been responsible for the performance against the struggling JackJumpers but the early calf injury to Jonah Bolden did not help. Parker Jackson-Cartwright top scored for the Breakers with a relatively paltry 15 points.
"We needed to stay on an even keel," Mennenga said.
Coach Koponen, in his first year with the team, told 1News that part of the review process included watching "a lot of film. Yesterday we had a big meeting with the guys — we watched the second and third quarters from the Tasman game fully.
"In basketball you can miss your shots but in that game … the last effort wasn't there. They scored 45 points from our turnovers … obviously it's way too much."
Asked about the poor defensive effort, which was reflected at the other end of the court, Kopenen said: "You can have all sorts of game plans but the effort and energy — everything starts from there. It's a non-negotiable. You can't get outworked and that's what happened in Tasmania."
After their next assignment against the last-placed Taipans, the Breakers play the third-placed Hawks in Woolongong and the Perth Wildcats before a home game at Spark Arena against Melbourne on December 5.
"I don't want to talk about the schedule," Koponen said. "It's been a crazy schedule. It's not only physical, it's also mental. You're away from your family and it can wear you out. You have to be mentally tough."
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