The NZ Breakers have capped off their long-awaited return to Auckland's Spark Arena with their first ANBL win of the season, beating the Tasmania JackJumpers.
Having not played at home for 489 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team made sure to pay back their loyal supporters with a 71-65 victory on Friday.
The Breakers showed they have moved on from last week's heart-breaking overtime defeat to Melbourne United, with a dominant opening half against the visitors.
American import Jarrell Brantley starred again, with 19 points and six rebounds, and was well supported by fellow compatriot Barry Brown.
Guard Izayah Le'afa also grabbed 16 points to go along with his four boards, as the Breakers overcame a disappointing third quarter, scoring just six total points, to finish on top.
Brantley was pleased with the performance, and is liking what he's seeing from his team on and off the court.
"It's fun, it's a great atmosphere, it's great energy, and I'm glad we brought them a win for the first time in two years," he told Sky Sport post-game.
"I wanted to stay aggressive offensively and defensively, I know my team leans on me, coaches have been pushing me since I've got here, I just wanted to be aggressive.
"We have to focus on our defensive rebounds and offensive rebounding, but I think we will get it down. We've got a good team, we've got a tough team, I like us.
"We get after it, every single day at work, some days good days, bad days, we like being around each other, we like the grind.
"I'm excited for this year, we'll keep building day by day, we don't really listen to the outside noise, good things to come."
Breakers 71 (Brantley 19, Le'afa, Brown Jr 13)
JackJumpers 65 (McVeigh 19, Weeks 8)
