NZ still the team to beat in NBL The teams to beat in the NBL are clear but it remains to be seen who will complete the rest of the finals puzzle. Two-time defending premiers New Zealand Breakers (20-3 record) appear on track for title No.3 after digging deep to down Wollongong Hawks 92-84 at home on Friday night. It was their 12th straight win and maintained their buffer at the top. Perth (2nd; 17-5) ensured they would keep the Kiwis honest in the minor premiership hunt with two straight wins, backing up from Friday night's 80-52 home romp over Townsville with a gutsy 83-79 away victory over Melbourne Tigers on Sunday. However, it appears the race for the last two finals spots remains wide open with five rounds remaining after the Tigers, Hawks and Sydney Kings let golden opportunities slip. Any doubts that the Breakers were not the competition yardstick were quickly erased when Mika Vukona helped them thwart a Wollongong comeback on Friday night. The Hawks appeared to be flying high when they reduced a 15-point deficit down to three in the final two minutes. But Vukona (team-high 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting) ensured the Kiwis took another confident stride towards the minor premiership. "It was good to be challenged and Mika came up with some clutch offensive rebounds at the end that sort of sealed the game," Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis said. And Perth all but sewed up second spot on the ladder by defying a resurgent Tigers (3rd; 10-11) who had won eight of their last 10 games ahead of this round. The Wildcats reeled in a nine-point third quarter deficit before overcoming Melbourne's high NBA draft pick Johnny Flynn (24 points, seven assists and six rebounds) and an ankle injury to centre Matt Knight to seal victory. Still many teams will be wary of Melbourne's finals credentials after they turned their season around following a 2-8 start. But it remains to be seen how they emerge from a last-gasp run to the finals. The Hawks (10-13 record) leapt into fourth spot by downing Townsville 86-62 at home on Sunday. It came after the Kings (5th; 10-13) left the door open in the finals chase after being upset 78-75 by Cairns on Friday night. The Taipans (7th; 7-14) twice rallied from 12 points down to take the lead for the first time with just under four minutes left on the clock before inflicting Sydney's seventh straight loss. But the Taipans failed to back up at home on Saturday night against dead-last Adelaide (7-16), going down 71-68 in a thriller. Cairns led by 18 at halftime and 13 at the last change but point guard Jason Cadee sealed Adelaide's comeback win when he drained a huge three-pointer in the dying seconds. Adelaide were without big man Luke Schenscher, who is yet to recover from his nasty fall against Sydney in round 14.