By Dave Goosselink
The Breakers have taken their game on the road for a pre-season series against the Wollongong Hawks.
The Breakers opened with a win in Christchurch on Tuesday, and hope to repeat that result tonight in front a near sell-out crowd in Dunedin.
It's the first time the Breakers have ventured so far south, and Dunedin is the second stop on a three-game regional tour, a pre-season hit-out to fine tune their combinations.
“You know we're working on our team chemistry, getting everything together so by game one we're ready to go, and another half of it is coming down here and seeing all the support from the South Island,” says new Breakers import Will Hudson.
Hudson has taken over Gary Wilkinson's import spot this year, but he could be taking a back seat to local centre Alex Pledger, who joined teammates to shoot hoops at a school this afternoon.
After four years with the Breakers he is expected to step up to the starting line-up.
“Without Gary this year I've been promoted I guess you could say, and it's an opportunity I've been looking forward to for a little while,” says Pledger.
Coach Andrej Lemanis says the back-to-back champions need to change things up to stay competitive, and he's happy with how things are rolling.
“That's what the pre-season's about, is starting to find your rhythm,” says Lemanis. “You need to reestablish yourself as a group, and how you're going to play offensively and defensively, and finding out how your combinations work and how the pieces of the puzzle all fit together.”
And while Breakers swingman Tom Abercrombie was doing some light training, he won't be playing tonight, to ensure his ankle has the best chance of recovery after recent surgery.
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