Smiles all round after big road victory

Adelaide 36ers head coach CJ Bruton was a proud man after his side’s come from behind victory against New Zealand Breakers at Spark Arena on Thursday night.

The 36ers outscored the home side 27-14 in the final 10 minutes, led by a shooting masterclass from boom recruit DJ Vasiljevic.

Bruton said the win was a testament to his side focusing on the controllables and their roles and responsibilities, while blocking out any outside noise.

“We stuck to the game plan, I thought it was really good all the way through,” Bruton said after Thursday night’s 97-85 win against the Breakers in Auckland.

“Stay the course, you guys will write what you will write, we are in it every day and when you go through it, our guys read what you guys write, for me it’s managing the individual and understanding what we need to get done.

“The only thing that matters is when we are on the floor is that 40 minutes, but off the court behind the scenes, from how we play to the energy that we bring every day to getting up and you got to drive the right culture and I think the boys have been on point.”

The victory was the 36ers’ third for the season, second in-a-row and first away from home after a tough start to the NBL24 season which has seen the club play in three different states and cross the Tasman in the opening month.

“I think our guys on the road haven’t been too far way, yes in Brisbane we had a really good lead, then Perth and Sydney, we know it’s a long trip, the fightback was great but I was disappointed that we didn’t come away with wins, but it’s all part of the journey,” Bruton said.

“Every game is huge, every game is a finals game, that’s the way I see it.

“Every time you get an opportunity to play, you going to be sad if you lose after a game and if you’re not, you didn’t give it your all.”

Adelaide had some issues with the up tempo Breakers defence, coughing up the ball 23 times with a few big turnovers late in the fourth quarter, which gave the home side a glimmer of hope.

“There was some blood rush, there was some opportunities early on to make plays and we got a little sloppy early,” Bruton said.

“We control that area, it goes a long way to winning ball games.

“But to come away with 23 turnovers and to win a game, I haven’t been a part of many of those

“We did an amazing job of when we got the ball to be efficient with it and put pressure on them.”

Adelaide now have an eight-day break before heading back to Perth to face the Wildcats at RAC Arena on Saturday, November 4.