Basketball New Zealand

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NZ Breakers import Orien Greene (Photosport)

Sportal
American Ebi Ere continued his dominant form as Brisbane’s quest for a place at the head of the Hummer Championship NBL ladder continued with a 125-93 win over the Harvey Norman NZ Breakers.

Brisbane shot ahead of Melbourne on wins, courtesy of the comprehensive victory against its trans-Tasman rival.

Ere was in slashing form as he drained seven three-point shots on his way to 42 points for the night to go with 10 rebounds for a double-double night out.

He contributed 23 points in the first half against the Breakers, with nine from 12 shooting, including four of six threes, as the Bullets established a 64-51 half-time lead.

Orien Greene, who started on the bench, made a strong impact with 20 points, while veteran Tony Ronaldson slugged it out for 20 of his own.

“The team was definitely fired up, without a doubt, coming in to this game,” Brisbane coach Joey Wright said of his club.

Dusty Rychart helped Ere by adding an efficient 19 points, while Adam Gibson, CJ Bruton and Brad Williamson all scored 16.

Greene, only in his second start for the Breakers, was a bright spot for the visitors as he displayed promising shooting ability and tough, physical defense.

Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis was pleased with the improvement that Greene showed.

“Orien was certainly better than he was for us in the first game, showing us the stuff that he can bring to the table,” Lemanis said.

Ere made his presence felt early in the game, draining two triples in the opening two minutes, proving to the fans why he entered the clash as the league’s leading scorer.

The dynamic shooting guard ignited his team’s 17-8 run in the early stages, forcing Lemanis to call a timeout.

New Zealand’s most recent import, Derrick Alston, scored his first points in style, finishing Greene’s fast-break assist with a dunk.

Ere remained humble when asked about his current form and being touted as this year’s front-running MVP candidate.

“It was definitely a good night at the office,” Ere said. “They can say it all they want but if I don’t go out and play like MVP I’m not going to win it anyway so I just go out there and do what I have to do for the team.”

Brisbane will look to continue its hot form against the Melbourne Tigers in a grand final re-match next weekend while the Breakers tackle the Hawks on Thursday night.

Brisbane 125 (Ebi Ere 42, Adam Gibson 16, CJ Bruton 16, Brad Williamson 16) Harvey Norman NZ Breakers 93 (Orien Greene 20, Tony Ronaldson 20, Oscar Forman 12)
Box Score – Breakers v Bullets (html 53KB)