Casper Ware had all kinds of motivation when it came to beating New Zealand Breakers at Hisense Arena on Friday night.
The Melbourne United point guard was charged up by the support of his home crowd, fired up by the trash talk of opposition import Edgar Sosa and inspired by the presence of his dad Casper snr.
Those factors all helped in his 26-point performance as the home side won 89-81.
If Melbourne can win their return clash with the Breakers in Auckland on Sunday, they will assure themselves of a top-two finish and if other results go their way could also lock in top spot and home court for the NBL finals.
Ware and Melbourne didn’t start well on Friday, with Sosa knocking down 16 points in the opening term.
With Melbourne desperate for the win to retain top spot on the ladder and the second-placed Breakers up by double figures, Ware knew he had to lift and his form surged after he and Sosa started trading trash talk in the second term.
“It was one of those things where sometimes I made a mistake [and he scored] and sometimes he hit a tough shot and you think he won’t make that shot the whole game,” Ware said with eyes widening.
“But when he started talking then it’s 'OK this has picked up a little more'.”
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The battle between the guards came to a head midway through the second term when Ware cut into Sosa and then away from him drawing contact from the guard and forcing his third foul.
“It was big with the talking and stuff and he just got over amped a little bit and hurt himself by being over aggressive and fouling me,” Ware said.
“That was a big point in that quarter where he couldn’t play and had to sit.”
With Sosa complaining, Ware immediately started hyping up the home supporters who had noticed the two guards were mixing it up.
“I loved that they got right behind me on that and that is part of being at home,” Ware said.
“When that happened I felt the energy and them being right behind me and it boosted me up another level.”
For imports like Ware who spent so much of their careers overseas, playing in front of family is a rare and special occasion.
Ware has “Ware Jr” on the back of his singlet and he was determined to see his dad off with another win after he also attended the recent game against Brisbane Bullets.
“He doesn’t get to see me play much so for him to be here, I wanted to play good and get the win for him as he goes home after this game,” Ware said.
“This is only his second time. He came to Italy in my first year there and now here in Australia. It’s special for me to have him out here.”
With Melbourne so close to claiming home court and the Breakers now in danger of dropping to fourth place, Sunday’s game should be every bit as intense as Friday’s contest.
Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman said he expected another talkative battle between Sosa and Ware, but his side had to show the same poise they showed on Friday.
“Sosa is a guy who will talk and Casper comes from an environment where he is willing to talk as well,” Vickerman said.
“But I’m sure it won’t spill over and will just be a great competitive environment.”
Ware added Melbourne had to improve their start if they were any chance to end their eight-game losing streak in New Zealand.
“Everybody made big plays for us at the end of this game,” Ware said.
“We can make those plays but it is all about our starts and we have to stop letting people get big starts and go up 10, 11, 12 points.
“We have to focus on that and it will be all better from there.”
Melbourne United plays New Zealand Breakers in Auckland on Sunday at 1pm AEST.
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