Kings v Breakers Championship Series Set

Monday, February 20, 2023

The Sydney Kings will defend their crown in the Hungry Jack’s NBL Championship Series against the New Zealand Breakers in a Trans-Tasman battle.

Sydney will be looking to win back-to-back championships for the first time since their 2003-2005 three-peat, while New Zealand aims to win its 5^th title and first since 2015.

The Kings have been the league’s best team all season and will be led by MVP Xavier Cooks in their championship defence.

After playing out of home and out of suitcases due to COVID over the last two tumultuous years, New Zealand has undertaken a dramatic turnaround under the leadership of master coach Mody Maor.

The entire country of New Zealand is set to get behind the Breakers while the Kings will be hoping to keep the trophy in Australia.

Ticketing information will be available on the Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers websites.

Game 1 of the best-of-five series will tip-off on Friday, March 3 at Qudos Bank Arena, after the international FIBA break. The full Championship Series schedule is:

SYDNEY KINGS v NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS

Game 1: Friday 3 March
Sydney Kings v New Zealand Breakers, Qudos Bank Arena, 7:30pm AEDT
Live & free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach & 10 play, live on SkySport & Prime (NZ)

Game 2: Sunday 5 March
New Zealand Breakers v Sydney Kings, Spark Arena, 4:00pm AEDT
Live & free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach & 10 play, live on SkySport & Prime (NZ)

Game 3: Friday 10 March
Sydney Kings v New Zealand Breakers, Qudos Bank Arena, 7:30pm AEDT
Live & free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, live on SkySport & Prime (NZ)

Game 4 (if required): Sunday 12 March
New Zealand Breakers v Sydney Kings, Spark Arena, 4:00pm AEDT
Live & free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, live on SkySport & Prime (NZ)

Game 5 (if required): Wednesday 15 March
Sydney Kings v New Zealand Breakers, Qudos Bank Arena, 7:30pm AEDT
Live & free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, live on SkySport & Prime (NZ)

The 12-day gap between Game 3 of the Playoffs and Game 1 of the Championship Series will be the longest break in play between matches in the 478 Finals games in NBL history.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have got our ????? contender for the Championship Series locked in ?? <br><br>The Kings' hunt for back-to-back trophies is officially ??.<br><br>Derrick Walton Jr showed off his versatility on the offensive end to earn the Foot Locker Player of the Game ? <a href="https://t.co/su6b95PWOs">pic.twitter.com/su6b95PWOs</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1627173086096429056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Kings punched their ticket to the Championship Series after overcoming a brave Cairns Taipans 79-64 on Sunday.

Sydney outscored Cairns 17-6 in the final quarter, showcasing its championship mentality and ending the Taipans’ miraculous season.

Dejan Vasiljevic had 15 points for the Kings while MVP Xavier Cooks battled through his ankle concerns with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">For the first time in seven years, the Breakers are ???? in the Championship Series!<br><br>They charged home to secure their chance at the trophy ?<br><br>Barry Brown Jr had the second highest score of any Breaker in a final to earn the Foot Locker Player of the Game ? <a href="https://t.co/jShequiVEE">pic.twitter.com/jShequiVEE</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1627203852146741248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

In front of a raucous crowd in Auckland, the Breakers stormed home against the Tasmania JackJumpers, 92-77, in Game 3 of their Playoff series.

New Zealand outscored Tasmania 25-13 in the final quarter to advance to the Championship Series.

Best Sixth Man Barry Brown Jr led the charge for the Breakers with 32 points, the second most points by a Breaker in a Finals game. Only Kirk Penney has had more with 38 against Perth in 2011.