Perth Wildcats coach Trevor Gleeson insists his team aren't getting carried away just yet despite taking a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three grand final series against New Zealand.
The Wildcats are just one win away from securing a record seventh NBL crown after posting an 82-76 win over the Breakers at Perth Arena on Wednesday night.
Game two will be held at the North Shore Events Centre in Auckland on Friday night, with the Breakers needing to win in order to send the series to a decider in Perth on Sunday.
The Breakers flew out of Perth straight after Wednesday night's loss, with the Wildcats scheduled to make the 5340km trek to Auckland on Thursday morning.
How both teams cope with the short break between games and the long flight is set to play a key role in Friday's clash.
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Despite most of the pressure now falling on the Breakers, Gleeson said his team were under no illusions about how tough it will be to wrap up the series.
"It's just halftime, that's all it is," Gleeson said.
"There's no such thing as a free hit for a championship.
"We know it's tough in NZ. We know we're going to get some home cooking and love over there from the locals.
"But that's what you'd expect. This is what we practice and sacrifice for, and we've got a good opportunity now, and we'll give it our best shot."
The Wildcats got the job done in game one despite a poor overall shooting effort, which included a woeful 4-of-21 from three-point range.
Star imports Jermaine Beal (seven points) and Casey Prather (11) struggled to make an impact, but big men Nate Jawai (15) and Matt Knight (14) helped fill the void.
The defensive effort of skipper Damian Martin also proved crucial in the result.
Jawai produced a monster first-half display to help secure the win, but the Breakers restricted him to just two points in the second half.
Breakers coach Dean Vickerman said his team needed to double team Jawai better to ensure the former NBA centre wouldn't be able to repeat his first-half heroics.
Vickerman said belief remained high among his group despite losing the series opener.
"They're not too down about it," Vickerman said.
"We lost a close basketball game. Now we go home and we've got the advantage over there.
"It's about who can recover the best, and who can make good enough adjustments from game one to game two."
TOTAL NBL TITLES
*6 - Perth Wildcats
*4 - NZ Breakers, Adelaide 36ers, Melbourne Tigers
*3 - Sydney Kings, Brisbane Bullets, Canberra Cannons
2016 RESULTS BETWEEN PERTH AND NZ
*Round 2: Perth 83 bt NZ 80 at Perth Arena
*Round 6: NZ 88 bt Perth 80 at Vector Arena
*Round 8: Perth 86 bt NZ 80 at Perth Arena
*Round 9: NZ 99 bt Perth 78 at North Shore
*GF game 1: Perth 82 bt NZ 76 at Perth Arena HEAD TO HEADS
*Overall - Wildcats 27 Breakers 25
*In Perth - Wildcats 19 Breakers 6
*In NZ - Breakers 19 Wildcats 8
