Jonah Bolden of the Breakers challenges Mason Peatling of the Hawks during the NBL, 2025. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Breakers have been beaten in their final game of the Australian NBL season, going down to the table topping Illawarra Hawks 96-82 in Auckland.
The Breakers struggled to contain Hawks sharpshooter Tyler Harvey, who led all scorers with 29 points, including six three-pointers.
Tacko Fall led the Breakers with 16 points, five rebounds and three blocks in just over 21 minutes.
The win for the Hawks secured top spot on the ladder with one game still to play in the regular season.
Breakers head coach Petteri Koponen said it was tough to contain Illawarra's firepower.
"I'm definitely not happy - it wasn't our best shooting day," he said.
"Their press got us out of rhythm a bit and we couldn't organise our offence quick enough. We ended up playing a lot of freelance basketball and we weren't really good at that.
"We were able to give some other guys opportunities, we wanted to see some things from other guys who didn't play too much during the year.
"We finished well, and had a lot of open shots but it wasn't our day."
The Breakers finishing the season in ninth place with 10 wins and 19 losses.
Meanwhile, centre Dane Pineau has announced his retirement from the NBL after eight seasons.
The 30-year-old made his return from a meniscus tear in last night's final game of the season, marking his 165th NBL appearance.
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