Basketball New Zealand

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NZ Breakers forward Mika Vukona (Photosport)

Harvey Norman NZ Breakers power forward Mika Vukona is looking to use this weekís Hummer NBL Championship home match against Townsville to overcome the pain of a devastating rugby weekend.

The Fijian-born Tall Black watched his two favourite teams exit the Rugby World Cup on successive days and says a win over the Crocodiles would be the best form of pain relief.

ìYouíre not a New Zealander if youíre not feeling the pain,î Vukona said. ìAt least getting on the court is an outlet for the frustration. All the boys, bar the imports, are a bit tetchy.î

Forced by his mother to abandon rugby and choose another sport when he went to secondary school, Vukonaís decision to go with basketball has never made his play any less physical or athletic.

Banging bodies on the court is, in his eyes, an integral part of the sport and he is eager to catch up with last yearís first-choice centre Ben Pepper, now playing for Crocodiles.

ìHeís a class act, so itís going to be quite a contest,î Vukona said. ìBut compared to other bigs in the league, we at least know whatís coming. Weíre pretty sure we know all his tricks.î

Vukona is just two points away from raising 400 NBL points for the Breakers and is currently sitting 6th equal in the NBL for field goal percentage, having nailed 6/9.

But he prefers to block talk about personal milestones and focus on the team dynamic.

ìItís time to gel. Weíve had a fair amount of time with the six new recruits and weíre starting to work out their strengths and understand how best to play with them.

ìThe Crocs have won one from five, so theyíre looking for a win as well. With a bit more composure the two games weíve lost could easily have gone the other way, so weíre still positive and confident in what weíre doing.î

Another motivating factor for Vukona this week is the clubís support of CanTeen, with the Breakers and key sponsor Burger King donating cash and kind to the Kiwi organisation helping young people living with cancer.

ìSeeing what these young kids go through puts everything into perspective. Their strength and courage is inspirational.î

The Breakersí overall record against the Crocodiles is four wins and nine losses with a three-win, four-loss home record.

Tip off at the North Shore Events Centre, Thursday, is 7.30pm.