Perth Wildcats are in the box seat to win the NBL Cup competition after a solid 85-75 victory over New Zealand Breakers.
The WiIdcats overcame a hot start from the Breakers to win Friday's clash at John Cain Arena and move four points ahead of Brisbane on top of the Cup ladder.
A barnstorming start from Finn Delany put New Zealand on course for an upset but the Wildcats came alive with a 33-17 third-quarter blitz, continuing their recent dominance over the Breakers with wins in nine of their last 10 meetings.
The two-time defending NBL champions have won six of their seven Cup contests, their only defeat coming against the Bullets by three points, and will enter Sunday's final game against Adelaide 36ers knowing what is required to take out the tournament.
But coach Trevor Gleeson dismissed any talk about winning the Cup competition, preferring to focus on how his squad continues to develop during their month-long stay in Melbourne.
"I'm boring, (Sunday's game) it's game number 14 for me in a 28-game season ... while we're here we want to build momentum for the end of the season," Gleeson said as Perth's season record improved to 8-4, second only to Melbourne United (10-3) .
Bryce Cotton's hot NBL Cup form continued as the competition's leading scorer finishing with 24 points, John Mooney added 17 points and 12 rebounds while Clint Steindl (12) and Todd Blanchfield (10) made important contributions.
Delany was the standout performer for the Breakers with 30 points and seven rebounds but a quiet night from Tai Webster (11 points on five-of-16 shooting) meant Dan Shamir's squad could not keep up with Perth once their offence started firing.
"We once again left everything on the floor, good effort but it was not enough," Shamir said with the Breakers (4-7) stuck in eighth spot on the NBL ladder
"I obviously focus on a lot of little things we can do just a little bit better, and we have to, in order to win games."
