Powell claims Second NBL Weekly award

New Zealand Breakers import Carlos Powell has claimed his second National Basketball League (NBL) Philips Player of the Week award for 2006/07 after two outstanding Round Seven performances.

For the week, Powell averaged 31.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals in the sort of all round performances the 200cm forward is becoming renowned for. He went 22-of-40 from the field (55%) while making 15-of-21 free-throws for the week (71%).

Powell was a standout for the Breakers on Thursday night as they pulled off one of the upsets of the year with a 118-97 demolition of reigning champions Melbourne. He finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, six assists, four block and three steals to help the Breakers cement their position in the top eight.

The American said his team’s victory over the reigning NBL champions was a huge boost for the Breakers.

“The win over the Tigers was a great confidence builder for us as a team,” Powell said. Everyone wants to beat the reigning champions and we are really happy to get the win. We went into that game and really wanted to play harder then them and we did that and we outran them in the end.”

Powell backed up on Saturday night when the Breakers took on the 36ers in Adelaide with the 23-year-old again showcasing his scoring ability. A 16-point fourth quarter helped New Zealand to a 99-90 victory. Powell finished with a game-high 34 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Powell was a controversial omission from the World team for the Virgin Blue NBL All-Star Game when it was recently announced, instead being named as a Reserve for the game which will be played on 25 November at the Distinctive Homes Dome. Powell said he had been determined to show the selectors for the event that they had made a mistake.

“I’m pretty upset to be left out of the All-Star teams,” Powell said, before adding a warning to future opponents. “I’m currently second in the league for scoring and I’m up there in rebounds, so to be left out was disappointing. It did upset me but now I just feel for whoever is in front of me when I have the basketball.”

On the back of their two impressive Round Seven wins, the Breakers have cemented themselves in the thick of the finals race in seventh position on the Philips Championship ladder. Powell attributed the Breakers surge to a renewed focus on the defensive end of the floor.

“It’s going really well, we are buying into our defence as a team and with great defence comes great offence so things are working well for us,” he said.

Although Powell took out the award, Perth Wildcats star Shawn Redhage nearly took home his first Player of the Week award for the season. Redhage was in fine form for the Wildcats as they went 1-1 for Round Seven with the big-man averaging 23.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals.

Other players in the running for the Player of the Week award for Round Seven included Nick Horvath (Adelaide), Brian Wethers (New Zealand), Darryl McDonald (Melbourne), Martin Cattalini (Cairns), Tony Ronaldson (Perth), Dusty Rychart (Brisbane), Larry Abney (Townsville), Adam Ballinger (Wollongong), Glen Saville (Wollongong), Brad Newley (Townsville), Rodney Elliott (Sydney), James Harvey (West Sydney), Ebi Ere (Brisbane), Kavossy Franklin (South) and Mike Helms (Singapore).

For winning the Player of the Week award this round, Powell will receive one of Philips latest products.