Phoenix hold out Breakers with 74-point first half

The South East Melbourne Phoenix were unstoppable with 74 points in the first half on the way to the eventual 123-116 to continue their hot form but the New Zealand Breakers did enough to all but secure a spot in the Ignite Cup Final.

The Phoenix were fresh off a stirring win at HoopsFest in Perth against the league-leading Adelaide 36ers and regained Nathan Sobey to take on the Breakers at the State Basketball Centre.

Both teams were playing for crucial Ignite Cup presented by Disney+ points as well and it was a blistering first half display from South East Melbourne starting with 38 points in the first quarter.

The Phoenix put up another 36 in the second term to go into half-time leading 74-54 on the back of going 12/20 from behind the three-point arc but their hot shooting did try up in the second half and the Breakers kept on fighting.

New Zealand were also playing for two crucial points in the race for the Ignite Cup Final on the Gold Coast on February 22, and the Breakers did outscore the Phoenix in both the third and fourth quarters which gets them significantly closer to locking in their place.

The Breakers now have 20 points from their four Ignite Cup games meaning only Adelaide can finish with more while the Perth Wildcats could still join them on 20 next Wednesday against the Phoenix by claiming all seven points on offer.

The win for the Phoenix keeps them right in striking distance of top spot to improve to 18-8 behind the 19-6 36ers by ending the night shooting 55 per cent from the field with 18/42 from three-point range.

Five South East Melbourne players made multiple three-pointers with Ian Clark continuing his hot form from Sunday against Adelaide making 5/8 for 24 points.

Wes Iwundu also knocked down 4/8 for 23 points with three rebounds and three assists while before fouling out, Jordan Hunter made 3/5 from deep for 17 points with four rebounds.

Nathan Sobey returned after missing the trip to Perth through illness and warmed to the task with 19 points and seven assists on 3/9 three-point shooting with Owen Foxwell having another 11 points and four assists with John Brown III contributing 10 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.

The Breakers fought the game out valiantly despite falling down by as much as 25 and they did get to the foul line 49 times where they made 38 with Karim Lopez and Sam Mennenga combining for 19/24.

Mennenga continued his standout form with the Kiwi big man delivering a hellacious dunk on Hunter just before half-time and finishing the night with 28 points and five rebounds.

Parker Jackson-Cartwright also provided the Breakers with 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds with Izaiah Brockington adding 15 points and four boards, Reuben Te Rangi 14 points, and Next Star Karim Lopez 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Both teams have quick turnarounds with the Breakers hosting the Adelaide 36ers on Friday while the Phoenix remain at home to play the Cairns Taipans on Saturday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26 – IGNITE CUP PRESENTED BY DISNEY+

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 123 (Clark 24, Iwundu 23, Sobey 19)

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 116 (Mennenga 28, Jackson-Cartwright 26, Brockington 15)

BOX SCORE