Basketball On The Internet.

TOOK a little longer than expected when we told readers here during Mody Maor's farewell season as head coach of New Zealand Breakers that the NBL club was in dire financial strife, despite predictable contrary remarks by former owner Matt Walsh, which a lazy NewsCorp seized on as gospel.

According to reputable reporter Marc Hinton writing in Auckland's "The Post" today: "The New Zealand Breakers have been sold and the new owners are set to institute a massive cleanout of the front office at Atlas Place.

"Several highly placed sources have confirmed to The Post that the ownership group headed by former US professional basketballer Matt Walsh had sold the Auckland-based Australian National Basketball League club. Walsh has been making the key decisions for the organisation from his American home for the last couple of years, and it is understood has had the club on the market for some time now."

Well well, who knew? Actually, YOU did if you are a regular here.

Walsh’s "Breakers Basketball Ltd" took club ownership from Paul and Liz Blackwell in 2018, experiencing a tough time through COVID and missing the playoffs the next four seasons.

They lost the NBL Championship Series to Sydney Kings in 2022-23 after an epic full five-game Grand Final battle. 

This season the Breakers started full of promise but injuries and an ownership decision to replace import Freddie Gillespie with Tacko Fall when NZ's record was at 7-3, saw it then go 3-16 to finish on 10-19 and ninth.

The Breakers' sale is expected to be announced early next week, first-year coach Petteri Koponen likely to return under the club’s new ownership structure.

NZ's contracted players for next seasons are Fall, Sam Mennenga, Max Darling, Mitch McCarron, Sean Bairstow and Next Star Karim Lopez, new ownership obliged to honour those contracts.

While the new ownership group or consortium has not yet been declared, Hinton reported that an NZ Breakers Club Ltd was formed on February 28 by Wellington brothers and business partners Stephen and Leon Grice.

The brothers founded Rako Science, notable for introducing a non-invasive saliva PCR test to New Zealand during the pandemic.