{"id":196513,"date":"2025-10-08T01:24:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/196513\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T01:24:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:24:09","slug":"ignite-cup-first-game-illawarra-hawks-vs-new-zealand-breakers-winless-derby-preview-petteri-koponen-future-analysis-latest-basketball-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/196513\/","title":{"rendered":"Ignite Cup first game, Illawarra Hawks vs New Zealand Breakers winless derby preview, Petteri Koponen future, analysis, latest basketball news"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the first Ignite Cup game in NBL history<\/a>, the New Zealand Breakers will host the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena in a matchup that already carries major stakes for both sides.<\/p>\n

Neither team has tasted victory to start the NBL26 season \u2013 the Breakers sit at 0-4, while the defending champion Hawks are 0-2. For both, this is a crucial opportunity to steady the ship before the season slips away.<\/p>\n

Watch live coverage of NBL 2025-26 season with ESPN on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking ahead of Wednesday night\u2019s matchup, Breakers big man Sam Mennenga didn\u2019t downplay the stakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know much about the Ignite Cup, but I do know that we have to win this game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you lose, you can lose fighting \u2013 and I think we haven\u2019t done that yet. We just need to pick it up in all aspects of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Breakers\u2019 offence has been one of the league\u2019s coldest starts, plagued by hesitation and missed opportunities. Under-pressure head coach Petteri Koponen has been calling for more urgency and effort from his group after another frustrating loss to the Kings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt starts with the pride, with the players,\u201d Koponen said. \u201cIf you want to win these games, you have to be able to want to do the dirty work.\u201d<\/p>\n

That mentality will need to show against a Hawks team that thrives on pressure and toughness. The Breakers will again lean heavily on Parker Jackson-Cartwright, who has been their heartbeat across the opening rounds. The explosive guard has shouldered an enormous workload, but he\u2019ll need help from Rob Baker, Izaiah Brockington, and Mennenga if New Zealand is to avoid an 0-5 start \u2013 a nightmare scenario for a team tipped to contend.<\/p>\n

Davis stars as Kings crush Breakers | 01:07<\/p>\n

On the other side, Illawarra are hoping to turn encouraging stretches into complete performances. Their 0-2 record doesn\u2019t tell the full story \u2013 they\u2019ve battled well against strong opposition in Tasmania and Perth, but execution down the stretch has hurt them.<\/p>\n

Star guard Tyler Harvey said the message from head coach Justin Tatum remained clear. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe message is to win one game, and then after you win one game, win another,\u201d Harvey told foxsports.com.au. \u201cWe just need to find a way to win and to close out games better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harvey remains upbeat despite the slow start. <\/p>\n

\u201cLosing isn\u2019t fun,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we\u2019re figuring out this puzzle day by day, which is also very fun. It\u2019s all about learning, man. You want to win as you learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illawarra\u2019s most recent defeat came against the Wildcats \u2013 a game they started strong before running out of steam. \u201cIf we\u2019re in that position again, we hope to be better,\u201d Harvey said, reflecting on the collapse.<\/p>\n

Tyler Harvey of the Hawks.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Hawks will again rely on JaVale McGee, who has been one of the early-season MVP frontrunners. The three-time NBA champion is averaging 29 points and 13 rebounds per game, dominating opponents inside with size and power. The Breakers\u2019 frontcourt has struggled to contain bigs so far this season, and if McGee establishes position early, it could spell trouble for Koponen\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

For Illawarra, containing Jackson-Cartwright will be key. <\/p>\n

\u201cOh man, I can\u2019t tell you our game plan,\u201d Harvey laughed. \u201cBut I just know he\u2019s a very good player. He\u2019s very fast, so we know that\u2019s going to have to be a priority for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that this will be the NBL\u2019s first official Ignite Cup game, where every quarter matters.<\/p>\n

The new format and added incentives<\/a> could inject even more intensity into what\u2019s already shaping up as one of the most fascinating early-season contests.<\/p>\n

Expect a packed Spark Arena and two desperate teams battling not just for a win \u2014 but to reignite their seasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the first Ignite Cup game in NBL history, the New Zealand Breakers will host the Illawarra Hawks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-196513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}