The New Zealand Breakers have come from behind in the closing stages to beat Melbourne United 88-86 in an Australian NBL pre-season game in Napier.
A topsy-turvy fixture was decided in the closing play when star Melbourne guard Casper Ware missed a shot on the buzzer to tie the scores.
His team had led 60-55 going into the final quarter, having themselves fought back from a nine-point deficit after the opening stanza.
The Breakers were led by 21 points from import point guard Edgar Sosa while Shea Ili scored 14 and Finn Delany 13.
Centre Alex Pledger pulled down six offensive rebounds.
Melbourne's scoring was led by Chris Goulding with 18 points, while former Breakers forward Tai Wesley scored 13.
The Breakers have shown some encouraging signs in pre-season, notching two wins from three games at the recent Blitz tournament in Victoria.
The teams meet again in New Plymouth on Tuesday as the Breakers prepare for their ANBL season-opening match against Cairns in three weeks.
"Both teams were getting after it and pushing - there was definitely some rustiness and possessions where teams weren't connecting, but that's to be expected at this stage," coach Paul Henare said.
"That's what this time of year is about - figuring out how we can play together as a group, and I think that for the most part we did a decent job.
"We did a good job of not being too one-dimensional."
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