BIO: Mika Vukona was born in Suva (FIJI) where he was adopted by his birth mother’s brother, a Fijian named Clem. Clem and his a wife, a New Zealander named Marion, moved their family to New Zealand in 1987 following the Fiji coup and settled in the coastal city of Tauranga, Marion’s hometown.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Mika Vukona made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 21 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.

In March 2003, Three Waikato businessmen, Michael Redman, Dallas Fisher and Keith Ward, acquired a NBL licence for a team based in New Zealand. The inaugural Breakers roster was built from the core playing group of New Zealand’s national team, which had finished in fourth place at the FIBA World Championships six months prior.

Phill Jones, who had been the ‘Tall Blacks’ leading scorer (18.2 ppg) at the World Champs, Paul Henare, Dillon Boucher, Paora Winitana and Pero Cameron (who was named team captain) formed the Breakers’ local core. The roster was then filled out with up and coming New Zealand talent like Aaron Olsen and Lindsey Tait and some Australian NBL veterans like Ben Melmeth and Brad Williams to add leadership. Lastly, Casey Frank, a long-time import in the New Zealand national league, was signed as the team’s second import.

Jeff Green was implemented as the team’s first coach and, despite the Breakers being picked by many to finish dead last, they pulled out a win in their very first NBL game against Adelaide (111-110).

After initial success, the Breakers went on to lose ten of their next eleven games (proving the pundits right) to languish near the bottom of the NBL ladder for the remainder of the season.

The Breakers finished in tenth place (12–21) with Vukona seeing minimal playing time, appearing in only three games and scoring a total of one point.

2004/05
The Breakers entered their second NBL season looking to improve on their tenth-place finish in their first year during their debut season. The Breakers moved Frank Arsego, who had replaced Jeff Green mid-season, into a permanent position as the team’s head coach. The next move was locking in the Breakers’ leading scorer and MVP from the previous season, Mike Chappell, and replacing import Casey Frank with Shawn Redhage, who had been dominating the state league (SEABL).

Ben Melmeth would return to his hometown of Newcastle to play for the Hunter Pirates. He was replaced with fellow Aussie big man Ben Pepper, whose former team, the Victoria Giants, had vacated the league due to financial issues.

To begin the season, Paul Henare was made co-captain, alongside last year’s ‘skipper’ Pero Cameron, and despite falling short in their opening game (a re-match of the team’s first ever game against Adelaide, which they lost 94-106) they started the season by splitting the first games six games and sit within the middle of the were pack with a 3-3 record.

Although Redhage (12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists) made a impressive start to the season, a form slump in November, which saw the team lose six of its seven games, led to Redhage’s court time being reduced and eventually his release after 13 games.

While Redhage would go on to sign with Perth and become one of the NBL’s all-time greats, his replacement came in the form of Marcus Timmons (9.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals). A clear mistake had been made there, however, as shortly after taking the court, it was clear Timmons was no longer the player he was back when he joined the Melbourne Tigers mid-season in 1997 and led them to a championship.

Chappell (18 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) would lead the team in scoring for a second consecutive season, while Aaron Olson would boost his scoring from 10.8 points per game to 15.5 points per game and win the club’s MVP award at the end of the season.

Vukona appeared in 8 games and averaged 2.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.4 assists, while the Breakers finished in eleventh place (9-23), failing to improve on their debut season.

2005/06
With the Breakers still searching for their first winning season, they chose not to re-sign Mike Chappell, the Breakers’ leading scorer from the past two seasons and appointed a new head coach Andrej Lemanis. Lemanis had played in the NBL during the 1980s and 1990s and spent the previous five seasons as a assistant coach with the Townsville Crocodiles.

Lemanis inherited a Breakers squad who had seen both its national team players, Pero Cameron (Gold Coast) and Dillon Boucher (Perth), leave for better opportunities on other NBL team’s.

Lemanis looked to build around its young turning core group, which included Aaron Olsen, Ben Pepper, Lindsay Tait and Paul Henare, who was named team captain with the departure of co-captain Pero Cameron.

Rugged defender Ben Thompson and New Zealand born Adrian Majstrovich (both via Perth) were added to the roster, as was the import duo of Rich Melzer and Brant Bailey.

The Breakers started the season poorly (1-5) and quickly made the decision to replace Bailey (18.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists) with Brian Green (18.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.5 steals).

Melzer (18.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) would lead New Zealand in scoring while the Breakers continued to see strong development from young gun Aaron Olson (17.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) and Ben Pepper (14.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) was a force inside the paint. Vukona averaged 5.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, appearing in 32 of the Breakers’ games.

Lemanis’ first season in charge was not particularly memorable. During the season, the Breakers endured a team-worst eleven straight losses, but after making the personnel changes, the team split their final twelve games of the season and finished the regular season tenth out of eleven team’s (9-23). Vukona would play his first full season with the Breakers, appearing in all 32 games, and average 5.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

2006/07
During the 2006/07 season Vukona averaged 5.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists and helped the Breakers finish the regular season in a tenth place (11-22).

2007/08
the Breakers were able to convince multiple stars of New Zealand’s national team to join the roster in 2007, with Phill Jones (14.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists), Paora Winitana (3.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists) and Kirk Penney (24.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 steals) all signing on after spending the past few seasons playing overseas. After impressing in his first season with the Breakers, Oscar Forman (9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists) was re-signed to a three-year deal with the club, becoming one of their team’s primary scorers and imports Rick Rickert and Wayne Turner were added to round out the roster.

New Zealand fell short in their opening game of the season, a five point loss to Cairns (90-95) with Forman (20 points) delivering a season high and Rickert (19 and 12 rebounds) showcasing his ability to impact both ends. The next game saw the debut of Kirk Penney (23 points and 7 rebounds), who led the team in scoring in his first game, albeit in a loss to West Sydney (96-104).

Over the course of the season, New Zealand pushed through season-ending injuries to both imports Rick Rickert and Wayne Turner, but their replacements Derrick Alston and Orien Greene were able to add the required fire power to help the Breakers seal their maiden NBL playoff berth with a 16–14 record and Penney being named to the All-NBL First Team.

In their first playoff match, they defeated the Cairns at home (100–78) before suffering a brutal loss to the defending champions Brisbane in the qualifying finals. Vukona delivered his best season to date, averaging 7.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. Vukona’s best game of the season was a 18 point, 16 rebound, 4 assists effort in a win over Perth (98-92).

SOUTH DRAGONS
2008/09
The Dragons retained five players heading into their third season. Ingles, the blue-collar Matt Burston, wing Nathan Herbert, the naturalised Nick Horvath, and import Cortez Groves. The demise of the Sydney Kings saw legendary coach Brian Goorjian open to offers, and the Dragons quickly offered to bring him to Melbourne and replace Shane Heal. Talented point guard Adam Gibson also joined the roster after his team (Brisbane) also exited the league. Other new additions saw Tremmell Darden signed on as the team’s second import, Mika Vukona (via New Zealand) was brought in to add a new found physicality to the squad and Rhys Carter (via West Sydney), who due to having no NBL teams interested in signing him, asked Goorjian if he could train with the team to keep in shape and his efforts were enough for Goorjian to offer him the backup point guard spot.

The season began with a slow start, a loss to Cairns and then Townsville saw the Dragons start the year with a 2-2 record. Then came a eight game winning streak which ended with Groves suffering a season ending injury which led to his release. The Dragons were 16-4 when Donta Smith was axed from his Chinese team Shanxi Zhongyu (making room for NBA star Bonzi Wells) and Goorjian, who was aware of Smith from his time playing for the Atlanta Hawks, quickly signed him as Groves replacement. Smith had dropped 41 and 35 point games in his last few weeks playing in China, but started his NBL campaign much quieter in comparison. Seven games in and Smith was still coming off the bench and yet to score over 14 in a game. During this time however, his talent was never questioned, as he was able to always fill the stat sheet in almost every other area which ensured the Dragons finished the season on top of the ladder (22-8).

Mark Worthington led the team in both points and rebounds (16.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 steals) while Smith finished up second on the team in scoring and first in assists (15 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals), while Vukona added 5.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists this season. Adam Gibson and Joe Ingles would earn the NBL’s Best Defensive Player and Rookie of the Year awards before heading into the playoffs, where the Dragons received a first-round bye (due to finishing top of the ladder) and meeting Townsville in the semifinals.

The Dragons defeated Townsville at home in both game one (94-81) and game three (101-78), while on the other side of the bracket, the Melbourne Tigers defeated the NZ Breakers in two straight games, setting up a ‘All Melbourne’ Grand Final.

In game one, the Dragons defeated the Tigers by double digits (93–81) after holding Melbourne to 36 points in the second half. Mark Worthington (23 points) top scored for the Dragons, while Anstey (21 points and 9 rebounds) led the way for the Tigers.

After leading by 14 points midway through the final quarter of game two, the Tigers fought off a late comeback by the Dragons to win on the Tigers home court (88-83). David Barlow (26 points) and Anstey (21 points and 9 rebounds) finished as the Tigers’ best, and import Donta Smith (18 points and 6 rebounds) top scoring for the Dragons.

In game three, the series became front-page news after a clash between Anstey and Dragons backup point guard Rhys Carter. a incident that saw the Tigers star big man charged with ‘striking – with elbow’ after the altercation with Carter in the third quarter of the grand final series before being ejected from the match (along with Dragons forward Mika Vukona, who was involved in the subsequent on-court melee). The game was a bloodbath after Anstey’s ejection, with the Dragons hammering the defending champions 84-67 at Hisense Arena. The Dragons were led by Donta Smith (18 points), who scored 10 points in the final period.

After the NBL tribunal decided they wouldn’t suspend any players for the melee, game four saw Carter (17 points), who copped the brunt of Anstey’s anger In game three, came back with a big game but Anstey (31 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists) also erupted for his team in game four, propelling Melbourne to victory (108-95) and setting up a fifth and final game to decide the NBL championship.

Game five saw 9,000 fans packed Hisense Arena to witness the Dragons beat the Tigers by 21 points (102-81) and become NBL champions. Tremmell Darden (31 points) was the key for the Dragons in this game, scoring 21 points in the final quarter, and Donta Smith (21 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists) did the rest, almost notching up a triple-double. Worthington and Mika Vukona were able to limit the impact of limit Anstey (12 points and 3 rebounds) yet again, with Ebi Ere and David Barlow (16 points each) the only Tigers’ players able to make a impact.

Donta Smith was named MVP of the Finals after averaging 18.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists over the five-game series.

Although initial reports had the Dragons regrouping for a run at back to back titles, in a surprise move, the club announced it would withdraw from the NBL less than two months after hoisting the trophy. Although in a positive financial position, Dragons ownership felt that due to the league’s instability and focus on stablising itself conflicted with their goals of continuing to grow.

“The Dragons’ board of directors believe that more time is required to develop the league as a commercially viable entity,” said co-owner Mark Cowan at the time. “The Dragons aspire to play at the highest level, to the highest standards, in a fully professional league. This is a sad day for our club, but in many ways, it’s the only way forward for a sport which needs some time to reinvent itself.”

Cowan further addressed the club’s decision in a letter to Dragons members, outlining the testing time that it was for everyone involved across the league.

“The NBL is a mess,” stated Cowan. “In the last two years, team’s in Brisbane and Sydney have collapsed. Singapore pulled out of the league. Cairns and the Sydney Spirit had major financial crises. Fox Sports severely cut its telecasts, and mainstream media interest has waned. Crowds fall every year. Basketball Australia and the NBL owners decided something had to be done, so we handed in our licences on the condition that a reform process would be undertaken.”

GOLD COAST BLAZE
2009/10
In 2009/10, Vukona averaged 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists as the Blaze finished in third place (16-12).

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2010/11
A key to the Breakers’ success this season were the return of both Vukona and Kevin Braswell. Braswell initially decided to play the 2010/11 season with Turkish team Aliağa Belediyesi SK but before the season could start, left the team to play a second season with the New Zealand Breakers. Vukona returned to the club after stints with South and Gold Coast and chosen to replace Paul Henare as team captain. Another key move saw declining import Rick Rickert replaced with former Utah State University standout Gary Wilkinson.

The season began with Kirk Penney missing the start of the season while he attempted to earn a NBA contract. Failing to do that, he re-joined the Breakers after the season’s first month. Despite missing Penney, the Breakers won their first five games of the season before losing to the Wildcat’s in Perth (114–74).

Kirk Penney (20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) would finish as the team’s leading scorer, with the Breakers finishing the regular season on top of the ladder (22–6). Wilkinson (15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists), CJ Bruton (11.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists), Thomas Abercrombie (10.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) and Vukona (8.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists) rounded out New Zealand’s starting lineup, while Braswell (10.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists) add a spark from the bench, a role that would see him selected the NBL’s Best Sixth Man at the end of the year.

This season was also notable for the impact of 22-year-old Corey Webster (4.0 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists), who was elevated into the Breakers’ full-time roster this season and started to steal time away from legendary point guard CJ Bruton this season. Bruton played seven minutes less than the season prior, a testament to New Zealand much improved, much deeper roster.

New Zealand met fourth seed Perth in the semifinals and lost the opening game to the Wildcat’s at home. The Breakers returned to New Zealand for games two and three and recovered by winning both games, qualifying for their first-ever NBL Grand Final.

There, the Breakers met Cairns in the championship series and coasting to a easy win in game one (85–67) after leading by as much as 31 in the third quarter. The team’s then fought out a gripping game two in Cairns, which saw the game tied at the end of regulation (60-60) and at the end of the first overtime (73–73), before Cairns prevailed (85–81), sending the series to a third and deciding game.

With the final game played back on New Zealand soil, the Breakers recorded a comfortable win (71–53) and became the first team non-Australian team to win a NBL championship.

Thomas Abercrombie collected Grand Final MVP honours and while Bruton etched his name into Breakers folklore after he nailed two three-pointers in the fourth quarter to seal the game against the Cairns Taipans, winning his fourth NBL title.

2011/12
After winning their first NBL championship, the Breakers suffered two major losses, the first being leading scorer Kirk Penney’s decision to play in Europe and a off-seasonAchilles injury to Kevin Braswell that saw him still unable to play at the beginning of the 2011/12 season. Coach Andrej Lemanis would replace him with Cedric Jackson and then finalised their roster by adding Daryl Corletto, who the Melbourne Tigers had just released to make room for NBA star Patty Mills.

Jackson (12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.2 steals) would lead the league in both assists and steals and ensure the Breakers didn’t skip a beat as the defending champs. Gary Wilkinson (16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Thomas Abercrombie (15.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) both boosting their offensive output in the absence of Penney, propelling New Zealand to a first-place finish (21-7) for the second consecutive season.

New Zealand would meet Townsville in the semifinals where they would lose the opening contest (82-99) behind big games from Crocodiles stars Peter Crawford (26 points) and Eddie Gill (21 points and 4 steals).

The Breakers re-grouped with CJ Bruton (18 points) top scoring in a game two win (94-83) that saw five New Zealand players all score in double figures. Bruton (20 points) continued to lead the way offensively in game three (97-80), winning the series for New Zealand and propelling them into the Grand Final.

New Zealand would go on to face Perth, winning the opening game in a overtime victory at home (104–98). Bruton (20 points and 3 assists) and Jackson (25 points and 8 assists) led the way in scoring, while Vukona added 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Despite Wilkinson (28 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) delivering his best game of the season, the Wildcats would rebound from the loss and claim a narrow victory in their second meeting (87-86). Jesse Wagstaff (15 points) and Kevin Lisch (15 points and 5 rebounds) led the way for Perth, while six other Wildcats players also scored in double figures. This set up a third game back in Auckland, where the Wildcat’s built up a slight lead in the second quarter through some brilliant play from Matthew Knight (17 points and 6 rebounds), who had 11 points in the quarter. With centre Luke Nevill (4 points and 3 rebounds in 9 mins) getting into foul trouble and the Breakers defence all but neutralising Shawn Redhage (18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists), the Breakers clinched back-to-back titles with a six-point victory (79–73) in front of 9,000 fans.

After Perth levelled the score with seven minutes to go, Abercrombie (12 points and 4 rebounds) pulled in a offensive rebound and set up Bruton (16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), who nailed a three-point dagger to extend the lead to seven with less than two minutes to play. Gary Wilkinson (23 points) led all scorers, while Alex Pledger (13 points on 4-of-6 shooting) made huge contributions from the bench. The Breakers became the first side to win consecutive titles since Sydney in 2002-2005, a championship team that Bruton was also a part of. Bruton finished 4-of-7 from downtown and was awarded the Larry Sengstock Medal for the Most Valuable Player of the series.

This season, Lemanis was recognised as Coach of the Year, Jackson and Abercrombie were selected to the All-NBL First Team, and Wilkinson gained All-NBL Second Team recognition as well. Vukona would appear in all 34 games for the Breakers, averaging 8.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 steals.

2012/13
In 2012, the Breakers looked to become the second team in league history to record a three-peat. While Vukona, Cedric Jackson, Leon Henry, Thomas Abercrombie, Dillon Boucher, CJ Bruton, and Daryl Corletto all re-signed, a major decision made this off-season was to not re-sign leading scorer Gary Wilkinson (to Europe) in favour of elevating promising Kiwi centre Alex Pledger into the starting lineup. Import forward Will Hudson (via Gold Coast) signed as his replacement, while Corey Webster, who had sat out the previous season due to a 12-month suspension for the use of banned substances.

The Breakers recorded a number of historic moments this season, beginning with Jackson recording his first career triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Melbourne Tigers (November 30, 2012). It was only the second triple-double recorded since the NBL went to 40-minute games at the start of the 2009/10 season.

By February, the Breakers extended their longest winning streak record to 11, a record that by mid-March had been extended to fifteen straight games.

New Zealand (24-4) finished on top of the ladder for a second consecutive season with Jackson (14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.8 steals) leading the league in assists and steals for the second straight season. Jackson was a obvious choice for the league’s Most Valuable Player and was also selected to the All-NBL First Team for the second consecutive season. Mika Vukona and Thomas Abercrombie were selected to the All-NBL Second and Third team’s, respectively, and Andrej Lemanis was voted the Coach of the Year.

New Zealand faced Sydney in the semifinals and swiftly eliminated them in two games. Abercrombie (15 points and 3 rebounds) and Jackson (11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals) leading the Breakers in game one (81-64) and Bruton (21 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Pledger (18 points and 12 rebounds) taking charge in game two (99-88).

New Zealand progressed to the Grand Final series, where they would face off against Perth in a Grand Final re-match of the previous year. The Wildcats entered the series shorthanded, having lost starting guard Damian Martin to a Achilles injury prior to the playoffs. Brad Robbins came out of retirement to cover the loss, but with the team missing Martin, the Breakers defeated Perth easily in two straight games. Game one (79-67) saw Corletto (19 points on 7-10 shooting) catch fire and in game two (70-66), the Breakers were led by Bruton (16 points) and Jackson (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals). Jackson was subsequently named Grand Final MVP as the team delivered a historic three-peat win.

Vukona would again play every game for the Breakers, averaging 8.5 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists over 32 games.

2013/14
After winning three consecutive championships with New Zealand, Lemanis was named head coach of the Australian men’s national basketball team. His departure saw assistant Dean Vickerman elevated to head coach and tasked with extending the Breakers championship streak.

Vickerman was taking over a Breakers squad that had lost star import Cedric Jackson (Europe) and Dillon Boucher through retirement and, as a result, started the season poorly, losing three out of their first four games. The poor start led to Vickerman sending out a SOS to former Breakers favourite and two-time champion Gary Wilkinson (15.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists), who joined the team in late October. Then in December, perhaps motivated by the team’s sluggish start, veteran CJ Bruton (6.1 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) let it be known he would retire at the end of the season just prior to playing the 500th game of his career. By January, the Breakers made a second move and brought in Casey Frank (5.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) to replace the injured Alex Pledger (10.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks), who had multiple stints on the sidelines and only managed to appear in 13 games.

American guard Kerron Johnson (12.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 steals), who had signed as a replacement for Jackson, struggled to fill the large void left at the point guard spot, and Thomas Abercrombie (15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists) had to shoulder the load for much of the season, finding himself with a lack of space due to Johnson’s lacklustre range. After not being able to put more than two consecutive wins together all year, they ended their season in seventh place (11–17).

The positives for the season came in the form of career-high scoring efforts from young guard duo Corey Webster (8.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists) and Reuben Te Rangi (5.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.6 assists) whose improving play showed promise for the Breakers future.

Vukona delivered the best offensive season of his career, averaging 11.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists across 28 games.

2014/15
After a dismal season the year prior, where the team missed out on the NBL playoffs despite having won the previous three seasons in a row, the Breakers regrouped by replacing imports Kerron Johnson and Gary Wilkinson with big man Ekene Ibekwe and fan favourite Cedric Jackson, who had led the team to back-to-back titles previously (2012, 2013).

This season saw the exits of CJ Bruton (retired) and Daryl Corletto (to Melbourne) and replaced with Rhys Carter (via Adelaide) and Tai Wesley, who qualified as a local player due to being born in Guam under the league’s Asian player rule.

The Breakers kickstarted the season with back-to-back wins over Perth and Adelaide before suffering back-to-back losses to Cairns and Melbourne. In what was a highly competitive season, New Zealand was able to reel off multiple five game winning streaks behind the offensive talent of both Jackson (14.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.2 steals) and Corey Webster (15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists), who moved into the starting lineup and become one of the league’s premier scorers.

Vukona would average 8.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists as the Breakers battled all season long for top spot alongside Perth and Cairns, eventually finishing in second place (19–9).

in the semifinals, New Zealand would face third-placed Adelaide, who had won their final ten regular season games and entered the playoffs as the hottest team in the competition. Despite the 36ers’ hot form, the Breakers made light work of them in game one (111–82), with Webster (24 points) delivering a career-high scoring effort at Vector Arena. Game two then moved to Adelaide, where they again had the upper hand the entire game, defeating the 36ers (94–83) and moving on to the Grand Final.

There, they met the Cairns Taipans, who had become the first regional centre team to win the minor premiership since the Geelong Cats did so in 1984. Despite Cairns having home-court advantage, New Zealand easily claimed game one (86–71), with Jackson (22 points) top scoring. Game two shifted to Auckland, where after a tight contest the entire game, Taipans guard Scottie Wilbekin tied the game behind two free throws with 1.2 seconds left in regulation. Coming out of a timeout, Ibekwe caught a inbounds pass, turned and hit a game-winning fade-away shot to lift the Breakers over the Taipans (83–81) and clinch New Zealand’s fourth title in five seasons.

Jackson (15 points) claimed his third championship and second Grand Final MVP award, becoming the first player in NBL history to win three NBL championships from his first three seasons.

2015/16
The Breakers retained every player from their 2015 championship-winning roster minus Rhys Carter (to Sydney) and Ekene Ibekwe (to Europe). To replace the pair, the club picked up Australian point guard Shane McDonald and rookie American big man Charles Jackson. New Zealand’s pre-season was met with a number of challenges which included Alex Pledger being absent due to recovering from off-season foot surgery, Thomas Abercrombie being forced to the sidelines with a nagging hamstring strain and the exit of Corey Webster, who headed to the US to trial with the New Orleans Pelicans. In a move to replace them, the Breakers elevated development players Shea Ili and Tai Wynyard, while also signing Everard Bartlett as a replacement for Webster.

New Zealand were handed a shock loss to Adelaide in their season opener (71-90). Without Webster, Abercrombie and Pledger, the Breakers had limited scoring options, the highest scorer being Cedric Jackson (14 points). At half-time, the score was 51–26 in the 36ers favour, which saw the team’s 26 points become the second lowest first-half score and second biggest halftime deficit in team history.

With a dwindling record (1-3), New Zealand were boosted by the addition of Corey Webster (19.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists), who returned after failing to secure a roster spot with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. In order to add Webster to the roster, forward Duane Bailey was released and Everard Bartlett, who had been signed as an injury replacement, was retained for the rest of the season. The Breakers rode a roller-coaster for the remainder of their games, winning nine of their next eleven games and reclaiming their roles as title favourites by Round 10 (10-5), only to losing five of their next six games (11-10) and were pushed out of the top four by Adelaide (11–9) and by Round 15. In January, New Zealand reeled off a five game losing streak (0-5), the team’s worst losing streak since the 2008/09 season and then finished the season on a five game winning streak, edging out the 36ers to finish fourth (16–12) and claim the final playoff berth.

New Zealand went on to sweep ladder leaders Melbourne in the semifinals (2–0) and moved on to their fifth NBL Grand Final appearance in six years.

Again we would see a New Zealand v Perth Grand Final, where this time, the Wildcats would rely on the presence inside of Nathan Jawai and the tough defence of Casey Prather to take home victory in game one (82–76).

Game two was played in Auckland where the Breakers evened the series (1-1) thanks to a near triple-double from Cedric Jackson (13 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists) that propelled them to the win (72–68).

With the deciding game in Perth, 13,090 of the ‘Red Army’ were in attendance and the Wildcats’ made sure to avenge their grand final loss from last year. Casey Prather (19 points) and Jermaine Beal (14 points) did most of the damage on the scoreboard for the Wildcats, but it was Damian Martin’s inspirational display in defence that shone the brightest. Martin would be named Grand Final MVP after keeping star Breakers guard Cedric Jackson scoreless on five attempts and forcing him to foul out early in the last term. The Wildcats would go on to claim their seventh NBL championship in a blow-out victory (75–52).

The loss marked the first time New Zealand had lost to the Wildcat’s in playoff history and the team’s first ever grand final series loss.

Webster (19.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) went on to be named in the All-NBL Second Team, while Vukona would average 6.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists for the season.

2016/17
Following the Breakers’ 2016 grand final loss, chief executive Richard Clarke and coach Dean Vickerman parted ways with the organisation, with Paul Henare stepping up from assistant to take the reins as head coach, while Dillon Boucher took control of the front office as general manager.

Joining Dean Vickerman in departure was Cedric Jackson and Tai Wesley, both of whom moved across the Tasman and joined Melbourne United. While retaining Thomas Abercrombie, Corey Webster, Alex Pledger and Vukona, the Breakers acquired the services of club legend Kirk Penney. With two vacant import spots, the Breakers signed Ben Woodside and Akil Mitchell. A strong New Zealand contingent also stepped up from development player roles this season, with Finn Delany, Shea Ili and Jordan Ngatai all being elevated onto the full-time roster.

An injury filled pre-season saw Shea Ili (back), Penney (calf) and Webster (hip and back) suffer injuries that would see them miss multiple games during the first half of the season. Even when Webster did return mid-season, he was never fully recovered and his production dropped from 19.6 ppg to 11.7 ppg as he battled to shake off a prolonged hip injury. After 20 games New Zealand had a total of eight wins and the ‘injury bug’ only got worse. Abercrombie (11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Woodside (8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) both spent time missed games due to injury and then in January, during a loss to Cairns (81-94), Mitchell (9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists) suffered a poke to the eye from Taipans centre Nnanna Egwu which caused his left eyeball to come out of its socket. He was rushed to hospital and although his vision was restored that night, he returned to the US to seek further specialist advice.

Webster made a valiant second return to the court before the end of the season, but under medical advisement, it was felt his injuries were too serious and he was shut down for the remainder of the season. New Zealand added import forward Paul Carter (9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) and shortly replaced a underperforming Woodside with David Stockton, the son of NBA Hall of Famer John Stockton. Stockton (8.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists) lasted only 10 games before he too succumbed to injury and was replaced by another import, Kevin Dillard.

The combo of Dillard (18.1 points, 4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals) and Penney (17.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) helped salvage the remainder of the Breakers’ season. The duo propelled New Zealand to a four game winning streak and revived the Breakers playoff hopes, but after back-to-back losses in round 17, they dropped to fifth place (14–14) and their playoff hopes were shattered.

Despite winning their last two games of the season, they fell short of a playoff spot, finishing in fifth place (14–14). Vukona finished the season with averages of 6.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.

2017/18
After a injury decimated season, New Zealand looked to rebuild in Paul Henare’s second year as coach. Kevin Dillard, who joined the team for the last nine games, was retained and it was hoped that the on court success witnessed during the last month of the season would be able to be extended across NBL18. The major move of the off-season saw the Breakers cut ties with Corey Webster after multiple situations where the two parties no longer saw eye to eye. This led to Webster first signing a two-year deal with Perth, then after turning the heads of some European team’s whilst playing in the 2017 NBA Summer League, requested a release prior to the NBL season starting. The remainder of the roster was retained and with league expanding the number of import a team can sign from two to three, added backcourt duo DJ Newbill and Édgar Sosa.

New Zealand then started the season in hot form, going 6–1 after five rounds thanks to the selflessness of Newbill (13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.3 steals) and Sosa (15.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Back-up guard Shea Ili (9.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists) also posted impressive numbers, becoming a vital piece of the team’s second unit and claimed the NBL’s Most Improved Player at the end of the season.

With a win over the Perth Wildcats on 9 November, the Breakers moved to a 7–1 record, tying their best start in franchise history. They went on to defeat Perth again three days later, moving them to a 8–1 record. They moved to 9–1 with a win over Brisbane on 19 November, as they headed into the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification break atop the NBL ladder and on a nine-game winning streak.

After returning from the FIBA break, the Breakers lost four out of their first five games and dropped to 10–5 following Round 10. With Dillard (18.1 points, 4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals) injured, they chose to bring in NBA player Rakeem Christmas (7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds) in early January to bolster their squad.

Despite finishing the regular season with back-to-back losses, New Zealand finished in fourth place (15–13) and went on to face Melbourne and former coach Dean Vickerman in the semifinals. United handed the Breakers back-to-back defeats in the semifinals, following a overtime loss in Game 2 (88–86). Club legend Kirk Penney played (10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) his final NBL game in the game two loss, finishing with a 17-point effort. Vukona finished the season with averages of 6.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

BRISBANE BULLETS
2018/19
After finishing dead last in 2018, Brisbane said goodbye to Adam Gibson (to South East Melbourne), Shaun Bruce (to Sydney), and Anthony Petrie (retired) and went on a recruiting drive that brought in Boomers sharpshooter Cameron Gliddon (via Cairns), Jason Cadee (via Sydney), Matt Hodgson (via Adelaide), Tom Jervis (via Perth), and Mika Vukona (via New Zealand). The Bullets also welcomed back Rio Olympian and former Chicago Bull Cam Bairstow, who was returning after a knee reconstruction, added Makoto Hiejima under the NBL’s Asian Player rule, making him the first Japanese player to sign with an NBL team, and added NBA veteran Alonzo Gee (via Puerto Rico) as an import.

These key signings were meant to bolster Brisbane’s roster as they prepared for a tough start to the season, with 12 of their first 15 games coming against last season’s top-four playoff teams.

Four games into the season and Brisbane were forced to release Alonzo Gee (7.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) after four matches when the veteran of 417 NBA games requested to go home to the US for ‘personal reasons’. A month later, import Stephen Holt (7.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists), concerned about his playing time (16.6 minutes per game), was granted a mutual release and left to pursue an opportunity in Europe. To fill the gap, Brisbane signed Lamar Patterson (via China) to replace Gee (Oct 2018) and Jeremy Kendle (6.0 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists) to cover the loss of Holt.

By January, Brisbane’s season had dropped to the middle of the ladder, a 29-point loss to Cairns had them sitting on a 9-9 record.

During this time Nnanna Egwu (0 points, 2.3 rebounds) was brought in for three games as an injury replacement. Kendle’s contract was extended for the rest of the season, and rarely used Japanese guard Makoto Hiejima was replaced by import AJ Davis (4.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.3 assists), son of NBA legend Antonio Davis, to further improve the roster.

Despite the ups and downs, Mika Vukona (6.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists) delivered a solid season for the Bullets, primarily starting games. His best games of the season included 16 points, 1 rebound, and 4 assists against Adelaide (1 Nov 2018), 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists against Perth (31 Dec 2018), and 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists against New Zealand (16 Feb 2019).

Lamar Patterson (17.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.3 steals) would lead the team in scoring, with Cameron Gliddon (13.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals) and Cam Bairstow (11.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists) also playing key roles for the Bullets this season.

Brisbane finished the regular season tied with Adelaide, both teams recording a 14-14 record. However, Brisbane secured the fourth spot due to a higher overall points percentage and advanced to the playoffs.

Perth went on to face Brisbane in the semi-finals, where Terrico White (24 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist) and Bryce Cotton (19 points, 2 rebounds, and 10 assists) outclassed the Bullets in Game 1 (89–59). Cam Gliddon (18 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists) finished as Brisbane’s top scorer, and Mika Vukona contributed with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.

In Game 2 (84–79), Terrico White (24 points and 3 rebounds) once again led Perth in scoring, while Bryce Cotton (19 points, 10 assists, and 3 rebounds) recorded his first career double-double. Despite strong efforts from Lamar Patterson (19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) and Matthew Hodgson (15 points and 2 blocks), Brisbane couldn’t stop Perth from advancing to the Grand Final to face Melbourne. Mika Vukona added 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in Brisbane’s final game of the season.

2019/20
The 2019/20 season saw Vukona average 1.8 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.8 assists as age and injuries started to take their toll and limit his production. The Bullets would fail to qualify for the playoffs, finishing in fifth place (15-13) and Vukona would retire at the end of the season.

Mika Vukona played seventeen seasons across four NBL teams. This included the New Zealand Breakers, South Dragons, Gold Coast Blaze and Brisbane Bullets. He averaged 6.7 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 474 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 23rd in total games played.
– 21st in total rebounds

Dan Boyce (815 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.