Koponen exit 'Ignites' Breakers search for new coach

• Snakes & Ladders: What's next for the Cairns Taipans‍
• To dunk or not to dunk, that is the question (again)
• Sam Mennenga seals Breakers’ dramatic Ignite triumph

The $300,000 Ignite Cup was head coach Petteri Koponen's parting gift to the New Zealand Breakers.

Finlander Koponen, 37, and the Breakers parted ways this afternoon (Saturday, February 28, 2026) just six days after he led New Zealand to the first Ignite Cup in league history.

"My time in New Zealand has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my career,”  Koponen said.

“I fell in love with this country and the incredible community that supports the Breakers.

“However, after two seasons of intense growth in the NBL and the immense satisfaction of bringing the Ignite Cup to Auckland, I am ready for a new challenge.

“I want to thank the club, the players, and the fans for embracing me. I am proud of the culture we’ve built, and I leave with the highest respect for this club."

Breakers President of Basketball Operations Dillon Boucher said: "Petteri is a young coach on the rise, and we support his desire to pursue opportunities closer to home.

"Professional coaching at this level demands immense sacrifice, especially half a world away from home.

“We’ve reached a mutual agreement that the time is right for Petteri to pursue his next professional challenge.

"He departs with his mana higher than ever and will always hold a permanent place within our Breakers whānau."

The Breakers were Koponen’s first head coaching gig after retiring as a player in 2021-22.

He faced constant adversity in his two seasons as the Breakers limped and clawed to 23-39.

New Zealand Tall Blacks head coach Judd Flavell has been in the conversation for the past several months.

New Zealand Breakers NBL26 Player Statistics

+--------------------------+-----+----+------+------+------+-------+------+------+------+-------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Player                   | POS | GP | PPG  | FGA  | FGM  | FG%   | 3PA  | 3PM  | 3P%  | FTA  | FTM  | FT%  | APG  | BPG  | SPG  | TPG  | F    |
+--------------------------+-----+----+------+------+------+-------+------+------+------+-------+------+------+------+------+------+
| Sam Mennenga             | F   | 27 | 17.7 | 13.0 | 6.9  | 53%   | 3.3  | 0.8  | 23%  | 4.7  | 3.1  | 67%  | 1.7  | 0.4  | 0.6  | 1.3  | 2.0  |
| Parker Jackson-Cartwright| G   | 33 | 17.7 | 15.5 | 6.9  | 45%   | 4.7  | 1.4  | 30%  | 3.3  | 2.4  | 74%  | 7.5  | 0.1  | 1.8  | 2.6  | 1.8  |
| Izaiah Brockington       | G   | 32 | 15.9 | 12.3 | 6.1  | 50%   | 3.8  | 1.3  | 34%  | 2.8  | 2.4  | 88%  | 2.0  | 0.1  | 0.7  | 1.5  | 1.8  |
| Karim Lopez              | G   | 30 | 11.9 | 8.9  | 4.4  | 49%   | 3.0  | 1.0  | 32%  | 2.9  | 2.2  | 74%  | 1.9  | 1.0  | 1.2  | 1.5  | 2.9  |
| Rob Baker                | F   | 25 | 10.2 | 7.9  | 3.6  | 46%   | 4.5  | 1.8  | 39%  | 1.7  | 1.2  | 69%  | 0.7  | 0.8  | 0.8  | 1.1  | 2.3  |
| Tai Webster              | G   | 16 | 7.3  | 5.8  | 2.7  | 46%   | 1.7  | 0.3  | 19%  | 2.1  | 1.6  | 76%  | 1.7  | 0.1  | 0.8  | 0.9  | 2.3  |
| Reuben Te Rangi          | F   | 33 | 6.5  | 5.6  | 2.3  | 42%   | 3.1  | 1.0  | 32%  | 1.3  | 0.8  | 65%  | 0.6  | 0.0  | 0.3  | 0.9  | 1.6  |
| Carlin Davison           | F   | 33 | 5.2  | 4.3  | 2.2  | 51%   | 1.2  | 0.3  | 28%  | 1.0  | 0.5  | 50%  | 1.2  | 0.3  | 0.5  | 0.8  | 1.9  |
| Robert Loe               | C   | 29 | 4.8  | 3.7  | 1.6  | 43%   | 2.4  | 0.8  | 33%  | 1.2  | 0.8  | 71%  | 1.1  | 0.3  | 0.7  | 0.7  | 1.4  |
| Tukaha Cooper            | F   |  2 | 3.5  | 3.0  | 1.5  | 50%   | 2.0  | 0.5  | 25%  | 0.0  | 0.0  |  -   | 0.0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 1.5  |
| Izayah Le'Afa            | G   | 15 | 3.5  | 4.1  | 1.1  | 26%   | 3.3  | 0.7  | 22%  | 0.7  | 0.6  | 90%  | 1.7  | 0.4  | 0.7  | 0.5  | 1.7  |
| Max Darling              | F   | 21 | 2.8  | 2.3  | 1.0  | 45%   | 1.1  | 0.4  | 33%  | 0.6  | 0.3  | 54%  | 0.4  | 0.1  | 0.2  | 0.2  | 1.6  |
| Jack Andrew              | F   |  8 | 2.0  | 0.9  | 0.6  | 71%   | 0.5  | 0.4  | 75%  | 0.8  | 0.4  | 50%  | 0.3  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 0.1  | 0.6  |
| Liam Judd                | G   |  2 | 1.5  | 1.5  | 0.5  | 33%   | 1.0  | 0.5  | 50%  | 0.0  | 0.0  |  -   | 0.0  | 0.0  | 0.5  | 0.0  | 0.5  |
| Taylor Britt             | G   | 19 | 1.4  | 2.2  | 0.6  | 28%   | 0.4  | 0.1  | 13%  | 0.1  | 0.1  | 50%  | 1.1  | 0.1  | 0.3  | 0.6  | 1.1  |
| Sean Bairstow            | G   | 23 | 1.4  | 2.0  | 0.6  | 28%   | 0.5  | 0.1  | 17%  | 0.2  | 0.2  | 80%  | 0.7  | 0.1  | 0.2  | 0.3  | 0.9  |
| Alex McNaught            | G   |  2 | 1.0  | 1.5  | 0.5  | 33%   | 0.0  | 0.0  |  -   | 0.5  | 0.0  |  -   | 0.0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 0.0  |
+--------------------------+-----+----+------+------+------+-------+------+------+------+-------+------+------+------+------+------+

‍

Longest Winning Streaks

3 Games (x2)

1. Nov 22 – Dec 6
   • at Cairns (102–96)
   • vs Sydney (95–90)
   • vs Tasmania (99–86)
2. Jan 11 – Jan 17
   • at Illawarra (101–96)
   • vs Cairns (104–86)
   • vs Melbourne (97–95)

No four-game run all season — momentum was repeatedly stalled.

Longest Losing Streak

3 Games (x3)

1. Sep 19 – Oct 4
   • vs Brisbane
   • at Melbourne
   • vs Perth
2. Nov 6 – Nov 15
   • vs Adelaide
   • at Sydney
   • at Perth
3. Feb 1 – Feb 14
   • at Tasmania
   • vs SEM
   • at Adelaide

Biggest wins

• ‍42 – at Illawarra (102–60) – Oct 31
• ‍31 – vs Cairns (115–84) – Feb 19
• ‍29 – vs Illawarra (117–88) – Oct 8
• ‍18 – vs Cairns (104–86) – Jan 17