Basketball On The Internet.

NEW Zealand's Breakers can rightly be revered for coming off one of the greatest seasons in NBL history, comparisons with the undisputed single-season all-time great Adelaide 36ers "Invincibles" completely appropriate.

The Sixers went 24-2 (92.31%) in the 1986 regular season, setting the benchmark for NBL single-season excellence. (It always needs to further be recalled that BOTH losses were on last-shot buzzer beaters, the 36ers legitimately approximately 10 seconds away from the perfect 26-0 season).

"We smacked people," Hall of Fame guard Darryl "Iceman" Pearce so eloquently recalled in the award-winning documentary "The Golden Era". http://www.botinagy.com/blog/golden-era-promo/

Come playoffs, the Sixers whipped the Hawks, then won the historic first best-of-three Grand Final 2-1 over Brisbane. Their 30-game year was 27-3 (90%).

The 2013 iiNet NBL champions went 24-4 (85.71%) and, like the 36ers, only lost to two teams though one of them - Perth - got them three times.

Come playoffs and the Breakers swept Sydney 2-0 and the Wildcats 2-0 for a 28-4 (87.5%) year.

Given too that this New Zealand team was creating history of its own by joining the Sydney Kings (2003-04-05) as only the NBL's second threepeat champion in 34 years, it unquestionably has written its own page.

Amid the all-time great teams, the Breakers are right there. As for dynasties? They have written their own chapter.

Was it as good as Sydney's?

Good question and one for fan debate. Sydney swept away Perth, then won an almighty five-game series over West Sydney, then crushed Wollongong in a 3-0 sweep of the then best-of-five Finals. Pretty darn impressive.

New Zealand put away Cairns in a series which went the distance, then Perth in an epic three-gamer last year, before sweeping the Wildcats this time around.

I give it to the Kings but for the Breakers to have the No.2 best dynasty and almost dominate as much as those 86 Invincibles means this program has to be part of any such "all-time" discussions for the conversation to have any credibility.

 

LET's not talk about Game 2 for too long though, eh. The 70-66 win provided the lowest grand final winning score after the 29-29 first half provided the lowest scoring half in a Grand Final.

These aren't things to hang your hat on when you are playing the showcase event of our sport and I lay the blame squarely at the officiating.

Sorry but no, it's not the coaches' faults because they choose to play the slow-down, hang-on, wrestling-style defence, or the players' faults for executing that way.

It is the fault of the refereeing.

Some of the utter crap to which they turned a blind eye was the main reason the game degenerated in the first half and why frustrations stayed close to boiling point on the floor. (If not in the stands.)

Every player knows you play to the whistle so if you get called when you're bumping an offensive player, or illegally retarding him, you stop doing it.

By the same token, if you can get away with a hold here, why not try a shove there? No whistle? Great. Let's just flat-out bump this guy to the floor. Let's keep testing where the limit is and, sadly, even our very finest referees get caught up in the "extra-intensity" hype of playoff games, confusing that to mean they should let more go.

It's not an issue specific to Australia either. Some of the NCAA Tournament and NBA games this year have been reffed diabolically. It is clear since the "pay advantage" aspect came into our game that so many referees no longer have a clue where to draw the line.

Protect the shooter is a pretty good rule to apply 100 per cent of the time.

New Zealand winning it's third straight championship was historic and memorable. But let's not try and pass off Game 2 as one for the time-capsule.

Last year's three-game series between the same rivals was far more exciting and watchable.

 

WAS I the only person who saw Tom Abercrombie's hands touch the ring as Rhys Carter fired off a three late in the game?

Is that not a goal-tend anymore?

Guess not. Apparently it was actually nothing.

Just quality officiating.

 

SAD to see our sport's national free-to-air broadcaster doesn't even know who does what at BA-NBL, ONE-HD/Ten identifying Kristina Keneally as "chairman of the board of Basketball Australia" ... Scott Derwin was probably turning in his grave, figuratively speaking.

Kristina is the hands-on daily-working chief executive officer of Basketball Australia. Not just a figurehead and pretty face to pull out for on-camera promo work, right?

Oh. Wait. ...

 

DISAPPOINTED with PLOCH this week, Perth's Buccaneer Brad Robbins still not cited for a fairly agricultural display during the third quarter of Game 2.

As Cedric Jackson went to the hoop, Robbins caught him on the arm, Jacko tumbling over the baseline.

Meanwhile, up past the top of the three-point line, Kevin Lisch and Daryl Corletto clashed - probably just fed up with sharing the same space all evening - and had a minor misunderstanding.

Robbins, spotting the interaction, flat-sprinted from near the baseline to jump into the melee, shoving away a referee in the process.

It was as if an alarm went off in Robbo's brain that "ah huh, yes, this is why I'm here" and it was his job to be in the middle of any potential altercation.

He got an unsportsmanlike for his trouble on top of his foul on Jackson but it looked well worth an ejection and citing.

So if the general manager of Professional Leagues & Operations Chuck Harmison needs to see it again, I have kept a copy of the match, purely for medicinal (insomnia-cure) purposes.

 

THE "name the venue" competition for the 36ers' home at (yawn) Adelaide Arena is closed though I did forget @Exhausted_dad sent in The Cathedral.

NCAA men's champs Louisville play out of the KFC Yum! Center.

 

HUGE signing for the Kings with AJ Ogilvy inking a contract.

The 211cm 24-year-old had a great college career at Vanderbilt, gambled on coming out early for the NBA Draft, didn't have his name called and headed to Europe.

He had a stint at Turkey's Besiktas - where Olympians Brett Maher and Brad Newley also plied their trade - then Valencia in Spain and most recently Brose Baskets in Germany, competing in the Euroleague.

I've been an Ogilvy fan since he was asked a while back about his favourite sporting moments and he nominated the Opals winning the World Championship in 2006.

You have to like that.

As far as off-season recruiting goes, Sydney has started with the pick of the crop.

Mark Worthington likely taking over where Seth Scott left off - Scott - First Team All Star Five? Really? Really? - at Melbourne will be a big coup too.

 

EXPECT WNBL champion Bendigo to announce signing Sara Blicavs from Dandenong's ill-fated 2012-13 team within days, if not hours.

Second time in a row Sara has joined a reigning champion since leaving the AIS.

Let's hope it works out better than her time anchored to the Rangers bench.