“I want to thank the club, the players, and the fans for embracing me. I am proud of the culture we’ve built, and I leave with the highest respect for this club.”
The news comes after Breakers’ President of Basketball Operations, Dillon Boucher announced plans are in place for a massive overhaul in order to make the club a championship contender.
“Petteri is a young coach on the rise and we support his desire to pursue opportunities closer to home,” Boucher said.
“Professional coaching at this level demands immense sacrifice, especially half a world away from home. We’ve reached a mutual agreement that the time is right for Petteri to pursue his next professional challenge.
“He departs with his mana higher than ever and will always hold a permanent place within our Breakers whānau.”
The Breakers say a global search will now take place to find a coach to “build upon the high-performance culture, and capable of taking the club to the top of the NBL rankings”.
Only three players – including import Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and Tall Blacks duo Ruben Te Rangi and Izayah Le’Afa – are contracted for next season.