Tip-off: Saturday, January 5, 7.30pm (local), WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

TV: NBL.TV (live)

Last time they met: New Zealand 82 (Abercrombie 25, Jackson 20, Bruton 13) d Wollongong 74 (Catron 14, Ubaka 13, Davidson 12, Martin 12), Round 20, 2011/12, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong

The story
Wollongong’s Gordie McLeod is a process-driven man, but coming off four losses from five games and with four players under injury clouds he has a sense of humour about what comes next.
 
“Every week brings a new challenge, this week brings the defending champions,” he said dryly.
 
Few coaches are as expert at finding chinks in opposition armour as McLeod, something he has done successfully against the New Zealand Breakers the past two seasons.
 
But as the league has evolved so have the Breakers and McLeod knows this year’s version is more prepared for the halfcourt battle his Hawks will engage them in.
 
“They're a lot better. They’ve got good depth and experience, that’s the thing that has been helping them in a lot of ways,” he said.
 
“They move around, they get good ball reversal, set a lot of picks, use their athleticism really well, use their shooters very well and use the penetration of Cedric (Jackson) well.”
 
After leading the league from long range last season, the departure of Gary Wilkinson and slow starts from CJ Bruton and Tom Abercrombie mean the Breakers are no longer feared from outside the arc.
 
It seems to have made little difference, however, as the back-to-back champs have motored to an 11-3 record.
 
“They mightn’t stretch the defence, but they find ways to get high-percentage shots around the basket, the challenge is to find ways to get them to the perimeter consistently and no one’s really been able to do that,” McLeod said.
 
“They're very good when you take one thing away they find another way to go at you. It will be an ongoing challenge in that area.”
 
The stats
Wollongong are 7-5 against the Breakers since 2009/10, the best record of any team.

The Breakers hand out 15.8 assists a game, second in the NBL. Despite leading the league in three-point percentage Wollongong are last in assists at 12.4 a game.
 
After leading the competition in three-point shooting last season at 37 per cent, New Zealand have dropped to 32 per cent in 2012/13.
 
In wins Wollongong grab 6.3 steals and pull in only 0.6 less offensive boards than their opponents. In losses they pinch only 4.6 steals and collect six less offensive boards than their opposition.

The wrap
The Hawks have looked unsteady recently, despite sitting in third position, and while the chasing pack seems to stumble at every turn, Wollongong need to arrest their slide or risk a late-season dogfight for a playoff berth.

Their recent successes against the Breakers will give the home team confidence, as will their ability to look after the ball against the pressure of Perth so far this season.

New Zealand have simply been getting the job done, the defence of New Zealand international quartet of Tom Abercrombie, Mika Vukona, Alex Pledger and Corey Webster – along with the wily Dillon Boucher and Jackson – instrumental in unsettling opposition teams’ rhythm.

Moreso than previous seasons, the Breakers are capable of winning the slow-tempo games the Hawks have troubled them with in their championship years.

While Wollongong are due to rebound from a poor shooting night against Melbourne, without centre Larry Davidson’s rebounding it is difficult to see them getting close in the possession game that is so crucial against New Zealand.

Prediction: Breakers by 6

The New Zealand Breakers held on during a wild fourth-quarter shoot-out to record a thrilling 78-76 victory over the Wollongong Hawks at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday.

New Zealand were pushed to brink as the desperate Hawks unleashed a series of late bombs, but rode the steady hands of CJ Bruton and Tom Abercrombie down the stretch to improve to 12-3.

Bruton's three-point dagger with just under a minute to play proved the difference, the Hawks coming up with an inbounds steal on the final play of the game but were unable to convert.

Cedric Jackson was a force at both ends of the floor, coming up with 11 points, six assists and five steals, while Will Hudson and Alex Pledger led the way up front with 14 points apiece.

Rhys Martin was brilliant in leading Wollongong with a career-high 28 points, but with his frontline rendered ineffective and Adris Deleon unable to bag a field-goal (0-of-6) the Hawks suffered their third consecutive loss.

The Hawks welcomed back Tim Coenraad, who drained a long two-pointer on his first touch of the season to give the Hawks an early seven-point buffer, before claiming the first quarter 20-16.

Pledger began exploiting the Hawks interior midway through the second stanza as New Zealand used a 14-4 surge to skip ahead 41-33.

Martin single-handedly salvaged the half for Wollongong by draining three consecutive long-range bombs in the final 90 seconds to pull the Hawks within 43-42.

As both teams scrounged for baskets in the third, Martin continued to be the catalyst for Wollongong, coming up with a late breakaway lay-up and triple but the Breakers cashed in from the free-throw line to lead 62-56.

New Zealand kept finding answers in the fourth as Wollongong played catch-up for most the period, using threes from Martin, Lance Hurdle and Oscar Forman to survive until Bruton ultimately decided it.

New Zealand Breakers 78 (Hudson 14, Pledger 14, Jackson 11)
Wollongong Hawks 76 (Martin 28, Hurdle 12, Forman 11)

Crowd: 3756 at WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong