The New Zealand Breakers have beaten the Taipans 73-70 in their NBL basketball clash in Cairns thanks to a late game-winner from import Edgar Sosa.
The Breakers Edgar Sosa. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
It's the Breakers sixth straight win and keeps them at the top of the table with the Perth Wildcats.
Locked at 70-all with three seconds to go, the point guard hit a three-pointer in the corner to steal the game, but not before Cairns made a late run at it.
With 0.01 seconds left on the clock, Taipans captain Cam Gliddon replied with an incredible full court shot, but it was waved away for being too late.
Sosa was happy to bask in the moment post-match.
"There is nothing better, in the game of basketball there is nothing better," Sosa said.
"It was a great play by coach, I was supposed to be the decoy but they came out in a zone so I took it."
Multiple players on each team finished in double digits, with Kirk Penney, Finn Delany, Tom Abercrombie, DJ Newbill and Mika Vukona starring for the Breakers.
Dayshon Smith, Alex Loughton, Michael Carrera and Jarrad Weeks top-scored for the Taipans.
Weeks had the crowd cheering when he hit a halfcourt shot to put his team ahead by four points to end the first quarter.
But New Zealand refused to go away.
Penney turned in a vintage performance for the Breakers, scoring 16 points.
On cue, Cairns' Venezuelan import Carrera had a terrific second quarter, with the fiery forward scoring eight of his 12 first half points to give the Taipans the edge at halftime.
But once again Carrera struggled with fouls and after he earned his fifth halfway through the fourth quarter the Taipans were forced to finish without their most dangerous player.
Cairns coach Aaron Fearne was pleased by the effort displayed after his men were thrashed by Melbourne two days earlier.
"They (the Breakers) took an amazing shot to win, but I told the guys on the court we played a lot better tonight. We played the way we are meant to"
Both teams are in action again on Thursday, when Cairns host Melbourne United, while the Breakers return home to take on the Perth Wildcats.
-AAP
