NBL Teams Log Court Time
Tagged in: Associations, NBL
With the start of the 27th National Basketball League just two weeks away, six Dominion Finance NBL teams will log court time in pre-season tournaments this weekend in Masterton and Blenheim.
The Manawatu Jets, Taranaki Mountain Airs and 0800 Easy LPG Bay Hawks will compete in the Highwayman Invitational Tournament at Masterton’s Genesis Energy Recreation Centre, while the defending champion Blue Chip Nelson Giants, Century City Wellington Saints and Canterbury Rams will play games at Marlborough Lines Stadium in Blenheim.
In Friday night’s semifinals at the Highwayman, the Mountain Airs and Hawks do battle at 6pm and the Jets meet a Wairarapa Invitational team, featuring former Tall Black and Jet Kent Mori and former Jet and Saint Callum Brock, at 8pm.
The three NBL squads will run Wairarapa high school students through skills sessions on Saturday morning, with the coaches - Trent Adam (Taranaki), Shawn Dennis (Hawke’s Bay) and Tim McTamney (Manawatu) - coaching Wairarapa representative players in the afternoon.
Saturday night’s schedule has the 3rd/4th playoff at 5pm and final at 7pm.
The Saints and Mountain Airs have scheduled an additional game at 11am Sunday morning.
Returning Jets coach McTamney will likely not have either of his imports or Miles Pearce but will have new recruit Ben Valentine, Stacey Lambert, Kaine Hokianga and James Paringatai.
New Mountain Airs import, American Keith Salscheider, will likely be on show after arriving this week, to play alongside Damon Rampton, Link Abrams, Aaron Nowell and the Paurini brothers, Josh and Eli.
Wairarapa basketball has seen some lean times since the glory days of winning the national second division title in 1990, but there is still a strong and knowledgeable crowd in the area. Tournament organiser Gareth Teahan believed the stadium will be close to full for both evenings match-ups.
“We plan to make this an annual event, and our long-term plans are to invite a team from the Australian ABA to compete. This will allow NBL teams to show up and prepare for their season with some strong competition, whilst playing in a stadium that literally rocks with the Wairarapa faithful.”
In Blenheim, the Giants meet the Saints, under new American coach Doug Marty, on Friday night at 7.30pm, with the Saints and Rams tipping-off at 4pm on Saturday.
The Saints will hold an open training session on Saturday morning between 10am-12pm, with local players and coaches encouraged to attend.
For the G-Men, Friday night’s game will be their first chance to learn what it’s like to live without head coach Nenad Vucinic, 2007 NBL MVP Josh Pace, plus Tall Blacks Ed Book and Mika Vukona.
Rookie head coach Chris Tupu will be missing a number of his stars, including Phill Jones, Chris Daniel, import Jamil Terrell and new recruit Rowan Gray, but will have American Michael Harrison, fringe Tall Black Michael Fitchett and a host of youngsters, including Junior Tall Black and Blenheim product Josh Bloxham.
Highwayman Invitational Tournament
Genesis Energy Recreation Centre, Masterton
Friday, February 15
Taranaki Mountain Airs v Easy LPG Bay Hawks, 6pm
Manawatu Jets v Wairarapa Invitational, 8pm
Saturday, February 16
Third-fourth playoff, 5pm
Final, 7pm
Sunday, February 17
Mountain Airs v Century City Wellington Saints, 11am
Blenheim Games
Marlborough Lines Stadium, Blenheim
Friday, February 15
Blue Chip Nelson Giants v Saints, 7.30pm
Saturday, February 16
Saints v Canterbury Rams, 4pm
