After more than a year on the road, NZ Breakers are overjoyed at finally getting the chance to play in front of their home fans once again.
The Kiwi side have confirmed the remainder of their 2021 season, with their final seven games at home.
From May 20, the Breakers will be based exclusively in New Zealand for the final rounds of the Australian NBL regular season, as they hope for a run of form towards playoff contention.
The Breakers haven't played on their home Spark Arena court since January 31 2020 - 440 days ago - and haven't played in New Zealand since Valentine's Day last year, defeating South East Melbourne Phoenix 92-83 in Christchurch.
"The prospect of going back to New Zealand and getting some home games is obviously very exciting," captain Tom Abercrombie says.
"There's a lot of things that come with home-court advantage and part of that is the boost your fans can give you. Sometimes, after a couple of losses on the road, you really look forward to that reset of coming home, playing in front of your fans and re-igniting your momentum.
"For us, being able to come home, and hopefully resetting and re-igniting ourselves, and going on a bit of a run is exciting."
"Home-crowd atmosphere is a huge thing in sports," adds teammate Corey Webster.
"You feed off your crowd's energy. You're playing in front of your friends, your family and your loyal fans, and that all adds to the atmosphere and the way you feel."
The Breakers are currently based in Launceston, Tasmania, and will return to New Zealand after their match against Illawarra Hawks on May 15.
The Breakers will face Sydney Kings twice, the Phoenix, the Hawks, Brisbane Bullets, Adelaide 36ers and Cairns Taipans to finish their season.
