Tasmania Jackjumpers’ season over after falling short to NZ Breakers in New Zealand in semi-finals
The Tasmania JackJumpers’ season is over after falling short to the New Zealand Breakers. PHOTOS + RECAP >>
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UPDATE, 9.30am Monday February 20:
The Jackjumpers’ second season is over after New Zealand punched its ticket to the NBL Championship Series with a gritty 92-77 semi-final Game 3 win over the Ants at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Sunday.
After forcing a Game 3 decider with a gutsy win in Hobart on Thursday, Tasmania left it all on the floor across the ditch but despite a big third quarter comeback could not overcome the Kiwis as a clutch performance from Barry Brown Jr led the home side to a 15-point series-clinching win.
Following a hot start from Tassie, who led 13-2 in the opening minutes, the Breakers found their mojo across the next two periods as they stormed to a 15-point lead midway through the third term thanks to a 14-6 run led by the brilliance of Brown Jr.
While Tasmania dug deep to cut the lead back to three points at the final change thanks to the steely determination of Jack McVeigh and Rashard Kelly, the Breakers found another gear in the final term with a 25-13 advantage to end the Jackies’ season and book a spot in the NBL title decider.
The Breakers will now face the defending champion Sydney Kings in the best of five game Championship Series after the Kings took down the Cairns Taipans 79-64 in a heated affair at Qudos Bank Arena earlier on Sunday.
The loss brought a close to another hugely successful season for the JackJumpers who followed up a remarkable grand final appearance in their debut season to defy outside expectations once again with a brave semi-finals loss.
Tasmania was looking to repeat last season’s finals heroics in which they overcame a 1-0 semi-final deficit to Melbourne United to win its next two matches and advance to the Grand Final series.
Brown Jr proved the difference in Sunday’s contest as the swaggy American guard finished with 32 points (10/16 and 2/2 from deep) and three steals to guide the Breakers to the Championship Series for the first time since 2016 when they lost the title decider 2-1 to the Perth Wildcats.
Dererk Pardon (15 points, 14 rebounds) was also huge for the Breakers with a monster double-double while Jarrell Brantley (14 points, seven rebounds) was also a big factor in the win.
McVeigh did his reputation no harm with another big-game performance to finish with 22 points (5/9 and 2/4 from deep) and seven rebounds while Kelly finished with 16 points and four rebounds in a great game off the bench.
Most Improved candidate Sean Macdonald also hit crucial shots throughout as the second-year Development Player finished with 14 points to show he’s a star of the future.
Meanwhile Milton Doyle was held to just 12 points on 2/10 shooting as the Breakers blitzing and double-teaming of the silky American paid dividends.
If the Breakers are to win the title it will be their first since their remarkable threepeat from 2011-13.
Game 1 of the Championship Series will get under way on Friday March 3 at Qudos Bank Arena following the completion of Fiba World Cup qualifier break.
In depth game recap:
Tassie couldn’t have asked for a better start in Sunday’s do-or-die final, stunning the visitors as Macdonald and McVeigh combined for three straight triples early as they jumped the Kiwis to take a 13-2 lead.
Macdonald and McVeigh scored 11 of Tassie’s first 13 points in a sizzling opener while on the other end the Breakers started ice cold, taking almost four minutes to register their first field goal after missing their first six shots.
Tassie continued to fire throughout the term, with a Jarrad Weeks long ball extending the lead to 21-10 at the 2:45 mark of the term.
The Kiwis were able to end the quarter on an 11-4 run to cut the gap to 25-21 at the end of the first term despite shooting just 30 per cent (6/20) from the field as they missed all seven of their attempts from deep.
Remarkably the Breakers did not register a single assist in the opening term, whereas the JackJumpers assisted on all eight of their made field goals.
Tasmania’s lead could have been much larger if not for the six turnovers they committed compared to the home side’s two, with the Breakers holding an 11-3 points off turnovers advantage.
Following on from their strong finish to the opening term, the Breakers came out firing in the second period as Brown Jr led the Kiwis on a 10-0 run to turn their four-point deficit into a six-point lead in the blink of an eye.
It took Doyle to finally put an end to the Kiwi avalanche with a much-needed pull up three at the 7:45 mark to bring the Breakers’ lead back to 31-28.
While Brown Jnr continued to cause havoc at one end, with 15 points to his name midway through the second term, McVeigh continued his strong start with a number of timely buckets to tie the game at 40-40 with 3:01 left.
While the two sides ended the first half shooting an identical 44 per cent from the field, it was the home side who held a 49-42 advantage at the main break after ending the half on 9-2 run as they continued to capitalise on Tassie turnovers and second chance points.
In the opening half the Kiwis forced Tassie into 10 turnovers to just six of their own, holding a 21-7 advantage in points off turnovers as well as a 13-2 advantage in second chance points due to a 10-4 offensive rebound count.
A 14-6 run to open the third quarter almost put the result beyond doubt for the home side as the Breakers held a game-high 15 point lead midway through the third term before McVeigh continued to hit huge baskets to keep Tassie in the contest.
While Brown Jr was cooking at one end with the help of Pardon and Brantley, it was the McVeigh and Kelly show at the other end as the two forwards made sure Tassie would not die wondering.
McVeigh scored 10 points in the term while Kelly grabbed a number of key rebounds and finished well around the rim as the pair helped bridge the 15-point buffer to just three points at the final change as the Breakers held a slim 67-64 lead.
Unfortunately for Tessie its run would end there however as the Breakers started the final period on a 5-0 run to jump out to a 72-64 to take the wind out of the Tassie’s sails.
From there the JackJumpers could not muster enough back to back plays to overcome the deficit as the Breakers rode the momentum of their vocal home-crowd to register a gutsy series clinching win and advance to the big dance.
EARLIER: THE JackJumpers softly-spoken superstar Milton Doyle says Tassie’s team of ‘underdogs’ continue to use its doubters as fuel as they look to defy the sceptics once more with another NBL Grand Final appearance.
After Doyle’s brilliance led Tassie to an 89-78 Game 2 win over the Breakers in Hobart on Thursday, the never-say-die Jackies now have a chance to book a second successive trip to the title decider in Sunday’s mouth-watering Game 3 matchup with the Breakers at Auckland’s Spark Arena.
Doyle, who earlier this season was dubbed by coach Scott Roth as a ‘silent assassin’ for his quiet demeanour but killer game, said proving nay-sayers wrong was a part of the JackJumpers identity.
“That’s what our team is built on, a bunch of underdog guys,” Doyle told the Mercury after touching down in Auckland on Saturday afternoon.
“That’s why you see us always fighting and playing hard, with the underdog mentality of people always counting us out.
“That’s what fuels the energy of this thing [the JackJumpers].”
After a match-winning 23 point, five assist Game 2 performance, Doyle will again be relied upon heavily to carry much of the offensive load for Tasmania in Sunday’s do-or-die final.
As a man of few words, Doyle was ready to let his game do the talking on Sunday.
“To me it’s just another game to show what I can do,” the 29-year-old American said.
“The same as always, it’s just staying calm and going about my business.
“It’s a win-or-go-home game so I’ve got to give it my all,” he said.
After showing off his entire offensive arsenal in a brilliant Game 2 display, the All-NBL First team selection was full of belief he could handle whatever the Breakers threw his way come Sunday.
“I think every game in the NBL I’ve got different looks defensively from teams so it’s just about being able to mix it up a little bit but I’m confident as it’s something I’ve been seeing all year,” he said.
“I’m very confident in my offensive game.
“I think that’s been a thing for me this year is scoring in a variety of ways and getting different looks.”
Ahead of the must-win final, the silky-smooth guard said he welcomed the spotlight.
“If you play sport you go after the big moments and there’s no bigger time than when it’s crunch time or a big game and that’s what you dream about as a kid is playing in those big games and taking a last-second shot.”
The Illinois-native said having the belief the Jackies could beat the Breakers on Sunday was key to their approach.
“The team confidence that we built in the last game and the way we played and what the coaches did with making adjustments from the first game [was crucial].
“So now our focus is keying in on those same things and going to the game with the mindset of ‘we’re going to win,’ I think that’s the biggest thing.”
Despite over 5000 Breakers fan set to turn Spark Arena into a hostile environment for the visitors, Doyle said the Ants often thrived in enemy territory.
“It’s going to be good in there and our team feeds off the crowd when we play away so it’ll be an exciting game.”
After getting NBL approval, the JackJumpers will again wear their Tassie Devils-inspired Heritage strip in Sunday’s monster Game 3 clash.
Tip-off between the Breakers and JackJumpers is 4pm AEDT Sunday.
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