Perth Wildcats point guard Damian Martin enjoyed his challenge of New Zealand rival Cedric Jackson for the second time last Thursday in Auckland and while he can't wait for their next battle on March 4, he now wants to help the 'Cats maintain a top-two spot and remain in the race for first place.
Martin continued his tremendous all-round form this season since returning from injury in last Thursday's six-point loss as he finished with six points, nine rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.
Click here to listen to the post-match press conference with Rob Beveridge and Damian Martin
That type of all-round display is almost unheard of and he continues to show why he is a likely Australian representative with the Boomers at the London Olympics, but before that he has much more pressing matters to focus on.
The Wildcats might have lost to New Zealand last Thursday, but the season-series is tied now at 1-1 with the third game to be played at Challenge Stadium on March 4 and Martin is already looking forward to that contest.
"We are fortunate to only play them three times and we get them twice in Perth," Martin said.
"We'll take a lot of positives out of the game, but you aren’t going to win too many games against New Zealand if you shoot 4-of-20 from the three-point line. We've got a lot of room for improvement and we will meet up with them again on our home court later this season."
As for his battle with Jackson last Thursday, who finished with 15 points and 10 assists but five turnovers, Martin actually gave the Breaker the points and now is looking forward to battling him again.
"It's a lot of fun taking him on. He is an unbelievable point guard and is definitely up there with the best point guard in the league right now. He goes for 15 and 10 and he runs the team so well," he said.
"You try to get into him and he finds the open man, or if you sag off him he can knock down that three-point shot. If he can shoot consistently and adds that to his already impressive offensive skills then he's going to be an unbelievable player.
"He got the better of me in this game and I'll take that personally, but he is a great player and I won't lose too much sleep over it. I can't wait for the next time we match up."
Home court advantage in any playoff series against the Breakers could hinge on the result of the game in Perth on March 4, and while the Wildcats would love to have that advantage, Martin would also be confident of having to go to New Zealand to win in the finals if it came to that.
"It is a lot of fun playing at home, but to be honest once the game starts the better team usually wins regardless of being home or away. I think this year, unlike other seasons, we have a decent record on the road where in past years we would have been below 500. This year more than other the better team seems to be winning on the road as well," Martin said.
"The last two years the team that finished first and second ended up matching up in the grand final. We know where we stand on the ladder and we try to maintain that gap between us and third spot so we can start looking towards securing a top-two and focus on New Zealand when they come over in March.
"It definitely starts with Cairns, though, and we have to try to gap third and fourth. We know how much of a massive boost finishing first or second is, psychologically in particular."
