Hawks prepare to take flight in inaugural NBL Cup

The Illawarra Hawks will kick-off the inaugural NBL Cup in Melbourne on Saturday 20 February when they clash with the Cairns Taipans at John Cain Arena.

The NBL Cup will feature all nine teams in 18 doubleheaders at John Cain Arena and the State Basketball Centre with fans able to enjoy two games of world class basketball on the one ticket for just $10.

Total prizemoney of $300,000 will be up for grabs and all games will count towards the inaugural NBL Cup as well as the 2020-21 Hungry Jack’s NBL season.

"We've been kind of in limbo for a couple of days so hearing the news that we're finally going is relieving. We've got a young team that just puts two bags on their back and off we go. We don't have a lot of baggage is what I'm saying, so we're looking forward to getting down there and can't wait to embrace the challenge," Goorjian said.

"We win these eight, or we do well in these eight, and we come back home. The atmosphere in that venue [WIN Entertainment Centre] is electric and our team is excited to play there over the home stretch," Goorjian said.

NBL Owner and Executive Chairman Larry Kestelman said: “It’s been a challenging past 12 months for everyone and we want all sports fans, particularly those who’ve not attended an NBL game before, to come and enjoy world class basketball and entertainment. Hopefully we can help continue Victoria's recovery over the next few weeks.

“The NBL Cup is a truly unique event that will showcase one of the world’s best basketball leagues and provide great live entertainment between the end of the Australian Open and start of the AFL season. Most importantly, it will provide fantastic value for families who can watch two games featuring the biggest stars of the league for just $10 a ticket.”

Existing general admission ticket holders will be contacted by Ticketek and will receive additional tickets to the value of the difference between the initial purchase price and the new price of $10 for use on other NBL Cup games. For example, if they purchased a seat at $40 they will receive three additional tickets to their initially purchased seat. Tickets for the NBL Cup can be purchased at nblcup.com.au and $10 tickets will be available from 12pm today.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said: “We will have a capacity of 5,000 fans at John Cain Arena and 2,600 fans at State Basketball Centre but we are planning to proceed with all games as scheduled and the health and safety of players, coaches, officials and fans will remain our number one priority with strict COVID safe protocols in place.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH NBL CUP PREVIEW 

All 36 games played for the NBL Cup will count towards the teams’ overall season record in accordance with standard ladder methodology. The winner of the NBL Cup will be determined by a separate ladder with three points to be awarded for a win and an extra point awarded for each quarter won across the 36 games held.

Every team will play each other once and the team with the most points at the end of the 36 games will be awarded the NBL Cup and $150,000 in prizemoney. The runner-up will receive $100,000 and third place $50,000. At the completion of the NBL Cup, clubs will return to their respective home venues and complete the remainder of the NBL home and away season.

CLICK HERE FOR NBL CUP GUIDE 

Hungry Jack’s will celebrate the NBL Cup by extending its free cheeseburger activation across Australia. At all NBL Cup games if any team misses two consecutive free throws fans across Australia (except ACT, NT and Tasmania) will be eligible for a free cheeseburger at Hungry Jack’s by downloading the NBL App.

Fans will also be able to make their first slam dunk with Menulog today by heading to nbl.com.au and signing up with the NBL ENEWS to score $5 off their order until 24 February 2021*

The NBL Cup will be broadcast on ESPN, SBS VICELAND, SKY Sport and streamed on SBS On Demand and Twitch.

*Only valid for new Menulog customers. $20 minimum spend. Not valid with cash payments.