NBL27 Preview - Preseason v New Zealand Breakers

Melbourne United will take to the court one final time this preseason when they face off against New Zealand Breakers at MSAC on Thursday evening.

Fresh off their Loggins-Bruton Cup-winning effort at the CODE Sports NBL Blitz, United will use Thursday as an opportunity to get some extra reps in before a Round 1 showdown with the Adelaide 36ers on Saturday 19 September.

While United will head into the game shorthanded, managing stars Cole Anthony, Josh Oduro, Sam Waardenburg and Shea Ili, the contest will still allow Head Coach Jacob Chance to continue to hone in on his style of play.

For the Breakers, two consecutive preseason wins, one at the Blitz and one against SEM on Tuesday night, has the team riding a wave of confidence.

WHAT’S THE WORD?

Speaking to Andrew Gaze and Andy Maher on SEN radio yesterday, Chance broke down his major takeaways from his group’s performances in Bendigo.

“Defensively, we’re going to be super hard to score on,” he explained.

“That’s the ticket in this league and it has been every year, and I thought we showed that at the Blitz.

We came out with the best defensive rating and we showed our versatility. We showed our ability to get on the glass and with our positional size; everyone has talked about our maybe our lack of size but I think I’d look at it in a different way.

“To lead the Blitz in offensive rebounding percentage, and how we crashed and dominated the possession game and dominated the game around the rim, that’s hopefully what fans will see.

“Offensively we’ve got a versatile group that can share the ball and play the right way. Hopefully we can run some of the actions that Gazey likes with some off-ball movement and then we’ve got some players that can make plays at the right time, so you’ll see a nice, healthy blend of that.”

WHO’S HOT, WHO'S NOT

Having missed both of United’s games at the Blitz, all eyes will be on Joe Ingles heading into Thursday.

The star shooter showcased his all-around skill in his last preseason game against Cairns, finishing with 12 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals in just 16 minutes.

On the other side, new Breakers recruit Dejan Vasiljevic will be hoping to continue the form he showcased on Tuesday against the Phoenix.

After making just one of five attempts from deep in Bendigo, Vasiljevic finished with 29 points on 6-8 shooting from beyond the arc in the comeback win. 

DETAILS

Who: Melbourne United vs New Zealand Breakers

Tip-off: 6:30pm AEST, Thursday 10 September, 2026

Where: State Sports Centres, MSAC, 30 Aughtie Dr, Albert Park

Watch: Melbourne United YouTube and Facebook

Tickets: Available here

Team List:‍

Joe Ingles 7
Malith Machar 9
Christian D’Angelo 11
Tom Wilson 12
Kyle Bowen 15
Fabijan Krslovic 18
Luke Travers 23
Chris Goulding 43
Jensen Bradtke 50
William Hynes 62
Corey Hastings 64