The under-manned NZ Breakers have fallen to a heavy 89-65 defeat against South East Melbourne Phoenix to tip off their Australian NBL season on Saturday.
After a build-up plagued by a COVID-19 outbreak leading to the loss of starter Yanni Wetzell and head coach Dan Shamir, the Kiwi side looked every inch a disrupted side, as they lurched out of the starting blocks and never recovered.
They could only muster two points through the opening five minutes of the first quarter, which set the tone for a contest they were never in, with the effects of a fortnight in lockdown on their preparations plain to see.
Star forward Finn Delany was the Breakers' best with 18 points and seven rebounds, but didn't sink his first bucket until the second half, missing his first six field-goal attempts.
The French next star duo of Ousmane Dieng (3 points, 1/7 field goal attempts) and Hugo Besson (10 points, 2/7 field goal attempts) seemed to struggle with the step-up in physicality, while new US import Peyton Siva posted an inefficient 11 points (3/11 shooting).
Meanwhile, new Phoenix import Xavier Munford quickly stamped his mark on the league, with 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, nailing four of his six attempts from beyond the arc.
As a team, the Breakers finished the game with a woeful field-goal success rate of 35 percent, landing just six of their 26 attempts from three-point range.
Stand-in head coach Mody Moar admitted it was a tough night for his depleted and under-done troops.
"No it wasn’t (what we were hoping for)," Maor said.
"We knew there was a chance it could play out this way, we'd be a step slower because of all the excuses that we can throw at it.
"But honestly we were hoping for something better and I believe this group has a lot more in it. Hopefully we will show that next week."
Both Shamir and Wetzell are expected to be back in the game-day squad for their rematch with the Phoenix on Friday.
