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WAYBACK Wednesday was a weekly feature I wrote last season for Adelaide 36ers website, which now you can revisit, see for the first time or completely ignore!

ADELAIDE 36ERS V NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS

NORTH SHORE EVENTS CENTRE, AUCKLAND, OCTOBER 29, 2009

ONE missed open lay-up by an out-of-sorts Cortez Groves contrasted by CJ Bruton's brilliance under pressure kept Adelaide from an epic NBL victory in Auckland, losing 91-99 in overtime.

The 36ers had trailed by a whopping 24 points during the second period and looked set for yet another road humiliation before American playmaker John Gilchrist led an inspired fightback which saw Adelaide outscore the Breakers 35-15 in the third quarter.

The Sixers had two 31-point quarters against Cairns the previous week and a 32 against Townsville earlier in the season, but those paled into insignificance next to this.

Groves, Gilchrist (twice), Jacob Holmes and Brad Hill all swished three-pointers but it was a defensive lift which turned the game on its ear, dumbfounding fans at North Shore Events Centre.

But they still would have the final thrill after Gilchrist drove to the hoop with 31 seconds left to break the deadlock and give the Sixers an 81-79 lead.

Gilchrist then stole the ball from Bruton who grabbed at him for an unsportsmanlike foul with 22 ticks left.

Gilchrist hit both free throws for an 83-79 lead and Adelaide had possession as well, the game virtually in the bag.

But you know about virtual reality. It just isn’t the real thing.

Groves cut to the hoop on the possession and with 17 seconds left, missed the lay-up which would have put Adelaide six points in the clear and flying home with a famous victory.

A second’s hesitation by the import at the rim, where he clearly wondered whether to lay it in or dunk it, was all the situation required for the ball to bounce off the iron.

The Breakers immediately surged forward and Thomas Abercrombie went to the bucket for 81-83.

They then quickly fouled Hill who had another chance to put the game out of reach with two free throws.

But Hill made just one for an 84-81 lead.

You had to know it was coming.

A champion is a champion and when a champion does a “chump” thing like give up an unsportsmanlike foul, you know he is looking for redemption.

But instead of recognising the threat Bruton now posed, the 36ers retreated defensively.

And Bruton simply did what he does best, racing forward without a thought other than setting sail with a 3-point attempt.

Sixers captain Adam Ballinger even backed off him, such was the inexplicable euphoria overwhelming the 36ers at the prospect of having turned a 24-point deficit into an unlikely road win.

But it was never to be.

The 36ers looked gutted as Bruton’s three-ball swished - it never looked like missing - tying the game at 84-84 on the siren and sending it into the five-minute overtime.

Bruton knew his reckless unsportsmanlike had been costly and it would be up to him to save the game.

He did just that, then went on with it, opening the extension with a triple to further break the Sixers' hearts.

They battled on gamely, but after such a huge momentum swing, Adelaide was not going to break the Breakers on their home court.

The match was Dillon Boucher’s 100th NBL game and while his numbers – four points, four assists, seven rebounds, two steals – were typical of his type of contribution to the Breakers, the big prize was salvaging victory.

It was an extraordinary game in which Adelaide exposed both its worst traits and, after a half-time regrouping, revealed its best face, pushing the ball, rotating and hustling defensively.

Down 18 at half-time to the Breakers, 36ers coach Scott Ninnis had used Townsville's recent fightback from an 18-point interval deficit to the Sixers as motivation for his men.

The rationale was: If they could do it, why can’t we?

New Zealand had scored the game's first six points, with 211cm import Rick Rickert emerging as unstoppable in the key early.

Matt Burston (hand injury) was missing and Rickert always loomed as a problem.

But Ballinger dragged Adelaide back to 16-17 before the Breakers scored the last five points of the first period.

When they scored the first 12 of the second period - in all a 17-0 run - the alarm bells were ringing so loudly six fire-trucks pulled up.

Breakers centre Alex Pledger (two), Abercrombie (two) and later Oscar Forman, all threw down dunks as the Breakers busted to a 47-23 buffer, the 36ers flatfooted, slow and just ghastly.

But when Gilchrist stole the ball for a three-point play on the Breakers' first second-half possession, a whole new drama was about to unfold.

Unfortunately for Adelaide, three poor moments – Groves’ lay-up miss, Hill’s missed free throw and Ballinger backing off Bruton – kept the fairytale from being completed.