The New Zealand Breakers' resounding game-one win over the Cairns Taipans has swung momentum as well as NBL history firmly in their favour in the grand final series.
The Breakers out-hustled the Taipans 86-71 in Cairns on Friday to set themselves up for a fourth title in five years.
Victory in game two in Auckland on Sunday wouldseal the series 2-0 and add to the three straight titles the club won from 2011-13.
The odds appeared stacked against the Kiwi outfit heading into the series against the minor premiers from Queensland. Just once in the 31 previous best-of-three series had the team without home advantage emerged victorious.
Now, the Breakers have a lop-sided historical statistic on their side. The team to win game one in the grand final series has gone on to win in 21 of the past 23 seasons.
The Breakers say they will take nothing for granted, despite the emphatic nature of their triumph in front of a sold-out crowd in Cairns.
Veteran forward Mika Vukona said his team were desperate to maintain their high standards in the play-offs, following the 2-0 sweep of Adelaide in the semi-finals.
"We were on a roll against Adelaide and we tried to bring that momentum into this game," he said.
"We had to stick to our game plan and it worked for us. We made the shots when we needed to. But Cairns is a resilient team, a great team and it will be another hard game in Auckland."
Guard Cedric Jackson led the scoring with 22 points and was an influential force as the Breakers opened up a 16-point halftime lead.
The team's other import, Ekene Ibekwe, was equally important in the second half after the Taipans had reduced the lead to one, bringing the crowd back into the match.
The powerful forward contributed eight rebounds, two blocks and 19 points while bench guard Rhys Carter executed a number of important plays and 12 points.
"We knew they would come out fired up in the third quarter and the crowd got behind them," Vukona said.
"We had to weather the storm and, lucky enough, we were able to make great shots. E (Ibekwe) came up big for us and so did Ced and Rhys Carter."
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