A shell-shocked NZ Breakers team were offered the chance to abandon their pivotal Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) game against the Cairns Taipans after a horrific final-quarter eye injury suffered by American power forward Akil Mitchell.
But the Breakers players decided to see the game out, in front of a full-house of just under 4000 at the North Shore Events Centre, because they felt that was what their popular teammate would have wanted. Some words of encouragement from him, shortly before he was rushed by ambulance to Auckland Hospital, helped them arrive at that decision.
The Breakers were trailing 69-61 with 7:53 remaining in the final quarter when Mitchell went down under the attacking basket after being fouled by Taipans big man Nnanna Egwu. Graphic television images showed his eyeball out of its socket, and players from both sides recoiled in horror when they saw the extent of the injury.
After a lengthy delay of around 20 minutes, the game was eventually restarted, with the Taipans going on to record a vital 94-81 victory that keeps alive their hopes for a playoff spot. The win improves the North Queenslanders to 11-12 in the tight tussle for top-four spots.
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The Breakers fall back to 12-13 after having a four-game win streak snapped, needing probably to win their remaining three games, starting on Sunday at the Sydney Kings, to make the post-season. Though that was the furthest things from their minds after the sickening injury to their popular teammate.
Initial reports, though, were encouraging that Mitchell’s injury may not have been as bad as it clearly could have been.
Breakers GM Dillon Boucher confirmed he had received a positive update from a member of his medical personnel at the hospital. "They have been advised by the specialists that Akil is sitting up and resting, and has vision to his injured eye. While there is some damage, the early reports are very positive that the injury is not as serious as first feared.
"Akil’s immediate recovery has been such that he is being released to return home, but will undergo further medical tests tomorrow."
Assistant coach Michael Fitchett said Mitchell’s situation was being felt deeply by all the players who were still in a state of "shock" after the game.
"They’re just getting around each other at the moment and trying to stay positive. Everyone is feeling for Akil," Fitchett said afterwards, with head coach Paul Henare bypassing the post-game media conference..
"It’s a really close group, and we’ve got a lot of veterans in there and Pauli [Henare] is a great leader. [Owner] Paul Blackwell came in and spoke to the team too. The guys are just going to try and stick together and our thoughts and prayers are with Akil."
Fitchett confirmed the team had been offered the chance by the league to stop the game.
"You saw from how we finished that game out that we wanted to go out there. Akil was back in the changing-room and he said to Pauli to make sure we win the rebound battle. We actually had the opportunity from the league office to halt the game, but the guys wanted to keep going.
"The guys did an admirable job finishing the game, I thought."
Fitchett said they hadn’t known what the outcome would have been had the game been stopped at that point, but emphasised the "players had been happy to carry on".
"They knew that was what Akil would have wanted in that situation. By him asking us to win the rebound battle he wanted us to keep going. We couldn’t get the result for him unfortunately, especially on the rebounds."
Fitchett conceded that the blow to the Breakers’ playoff hopes suffered by the defeat was right now the furthest from everybody’s minds.
"We’re in a situation where we’re fighting for the playoffs but it is what it is. We’ll come out and we’ll battle on Sunday [in Sydney] and next week and the last round, but tonight basketball is basketball …"
Cairns coach Aaron Fearne said it had been a difficult situation for both teams, but especially the Breakers
"That was pretty sickening to see really for everybody in the stadium, and obviously those closest to the court. It probably hit them harder than us because it’s one of their teammates. It’s a huge challenge to deal with that. But I don’t want to take anything away from our guys, they were really focused, and had a really good next play mentality."
Taipans skipper Cam Gliddon added: "I didn’t see it and I’m happy I didn’t but a lot of the guys did … Straight away you just feel sorry for the guy. You don’t want that to happen to your worst enemy."
The Breakers, despite their decision to continue, seemed to have the stuffing knocked out of them by Mitchell’s situation. After Tom Abercrombie knocked down both free-throws at the restart to close the deficit to 69-63, the Taipans went on a 9-0 run to ease out by 15 (78-63) with six minutes remaining.
It was the Auckland club’s fourth loss in five games at the NSEC and completed a season sweep by the Taipans over the Breakers. Kirk Penney led the Breakers’ scoring with 18 points (5/10 FG, 3/7 3PT) but he was well contained after a sizzling start, adding just six points after the opening term.
Mika Vukona equalled his season-best haul with 16 points (7/10 FG) and six rebounds, manfully cajoling his ailing body through a little over 18 minutes before fouling out with three and a-half minutes remaining.
Mitchell had a busy 13 points and 10 boards when his game came to that awful end, while Tom Abercrombie, in his first game back from the fractured hand, weighed in with 11 points and four rebounds.
Red-hot import Kevin Dillard had a game to forget, finishing with just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting, and adding five assists and four turnovers. Fearne’s defensive plan for him worked a treat.
Fellow import Paul Carter wasn’t much better, going 1-of-8 from the floor en route to just five points, while big men Rob Loe and Alex Pledger mustered just four points between them.
The Taipans got special performances out of two of their stalwarts.
Cam Gliddon was remarkable as he poured in a game-high 26 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He made seven of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc and his strong first and third quarters were vital in the victory.
And veteran big man Alex Loughton was their hero late as he caught fire over the run home to finish with 21 points (at an 8-of-11 clip) and four rebounds.
Both teams shot 44 percent from the floor overall but a 19-11 points-off-turnover edge for the visitors was decisive, as was a 40-34 rebounding count and an 18-point advantage in three-pointers made.
Penney and Gliddon had poured in a dozen first-quarter points apiece as the Breakers nudged to a 24-21 lead at the end of a free-flowing opening term.
The Taipans then surged into a 44-41 halftime lead, courtesy of a 23-17 second-quarter charge, and extended that advantage to seven (66-59) at the final break behind an 11-point third term from the dialled-in Gliddon.
From there it all got rather dramatic on a night when the result of a pivotal ANBL contest just didn’t seem to matter so much.
The Breakers will have to regroup quickly as they travel to Sydney on Saturday for Sunday’s must-win game against the Kings.
Cairns Taipans 94 (Cameron Gliddon 26, Alex Loughton 21 Jarrad Weeks 13) NZ Breakers 81 (Kirk Penney 18, Mika Vukona 16, Akil Mitchell 13, Tom Abercrombie 11). 1Q: 21-24; HT: 44-41; 3Q: 66-59.
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