from the looks of it you are dealing with quaternion not rotation.
I'm sorry I can't say anything in Leadwerks as I haven't tried it yet but in Unity 3D.
we have Quaternion AND Rotation
rotation is Vector3(x, y, z);
Quaternion is Quaternion(x,y,z,w);
I do not understand Quaternion my self but this 2 are totally different things.
I suggest you try finding another method witch will have Vector3 Degrees and will work the way you want it to.
in Unity 3D we would deal it like this:
Transform ItemObject = transform;
ItemObject.localEulerAngles = new Vector3(0,45,0);