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Breakers' Tacko Fall heard a lot of voices doubting he could be a difference maker in the NBL but was happy to start silencing them in Cairns on New Year's Eve
He is the tallest ever player in NBL history and Tacko Fall always knew what he could bring to the New Zealand Breakers, admitting quietening the doubting voices is so satisfying.
There was great expectation over what Fall would bring to the Breakers when he joined them over the FIBA break when they were 7-3.
Losing the next eight games meant things didn't exactly go to plan but he knew he had the ability to prove the doubters wrong.
There had been glimpses that he could be an unstoppable offensive threat around the basket and an imposing defensive rim protector in his first seven matches before it all clicked on New Year's Eve.
The Breakers snapped their losing streak when beating Cairns Taipans by 24 points and while Fall only played just over 16 minutes, he was an imposing force with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Fall was just happy to be part of his first NBL win and to start quietening some of those doubters because he is confident what he, and the Breakers, are still capable of.
"It feels great getting a win and every game for me has been about coming out to try and do everything that we can, and for me to try and do everything that I can to get us over the hump," Fall said.
"I'm glad we were able to do that and personally, since I got here I felt like there's been a lot of noise and a lot of talking. Every single day they are coming into the gym, they work hard and I come in the gym and work hard every single day.
"There's been a lot of noise around us and a lot of it good, some of it not warranted and I didn't really appreciate it.
"We stayed together, we stuck together and we're going to keep doing that regardless of what anyone out there is saying."
Ironically, Fall's impact was more significant with the absence of star guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright who missed his first of five games following a suspension suffered from the Christmas loss to Tasmania.
Matt Mooney and Mitch McCarron were the primary ball handlers with the Breakers playing at a more deliberate pace against the Taipans.
However, Fall feels he is going to be unstoppable in most situations as he looks forward to the rest of NBL25.
"I'm very excited and I can't wait especially once we get Parker back," Fall said.
"He's a huge piece of this team and we just have to hold it down until he comes back and there's a lot to play for moving forward. We just have to concentrate on one game at a time and make it happen.
"Pretty much every team tries really hard but for me I feel like I'm a match up problem for any team any given night. It's all about pretty much learning how to utilise that and trying to make plays off of that."
