Hawks to tackle Kings, United and Phoenix in NBL Blitz

The NBL Blitz will return next month as the Illawarra Hawks do battle with the Sydney Kings, Melbourne United and SE Melbourne Phoenix over two weeks across New South Wales and Victoria.

The rest of the competition will head to Tasmania as teams ramp up preparations for the upcoming NBL 2021-22 season which will start on December 3.

The Hawks, United, Phoenix and Kings will play their pre-season games in a two-week period beginning November 13, with dates and locations to follow in the coming weeks.

Illawarra Hawks President and Co-Owner, Dorry Kordahi, welcomed the return of the pre-season competition and is eager to see how some key off-season acquisitions are gelling with the core of last year's squad.

"We are looking forward to taking the court against some high calibre opposition [in the Kings, United and Phoenix] and this will hold us in good stead for the season proper. We've been very proactive over the last few months in assuring we have a competitive roster for the 2021-22 NBL season, and it will be great to introduce some of our new players to the fans for the first time," Kordahi said.

Illawarra Hawks Head Coach, Brian Goorjian, said the NBL Blitz tournament would be fantastic preparation for what he hopes will be a memorable season ahead.

"We'll get a bunch of quality games against three of the strongest sides in the league ahead of what I think will be one of the most competitive seasons of the NBL in some time. We had an up and down pre-season last year, spent a few weeks in Albury at the beginning of the year before heading to Cairns. The NBL Blitz will ensure we can prepare as best we can while staying close to home as well," Goorjian said.

Each team across all three states will play at least four games with a points system to determine the winner of the preseason tournament.

The winner will be awarded the Loggins-Bruton Cup, while the tournament’s most outstanding player will win the Ray Borner Medal.  

All games are worth a maximum of 7 points; 3 points are awarded to the winning team, with an additional point awarded to the side that wins each quarter. In the event a quarter is tied, both teams receive half of a point. If a game goes into overtime, no additional points are awarded. 

Further details on the exact locations of the Victorian and New South Wales games will be announced soon, including ticket details. All games will be live streamed.

The JackJumpers, Bullets, Breakers, 36ers, Wildcats and Taipans will converge on the Apple Isle on November 14 for their fortnight of action, with NBL Commissioner, Jeremy Loeliger, saying the league was thrilled to be returning to Tasmania for another NBL Blitz to help grow the popularity of the game.

“Tasmania was a fantastic host in 2019 and we have no doubt it will be another first-class event and it forms the perfect springboard for the Tasmania JackJumpers to enter the league before they have the honour of tipping off the season against Adelaide on December 3.

“We are also very excited to host the first ever event at MyState Bank Arena, the new home of Tasmania’s sports and entertainment scene.”

Loeliger said the warm-up games will provide Tasmanian fans the first chance to watch their new team the hit the court and encouraged the entire state to get behind basketball as it continues to thrive and grow. 

“The six NBL teams will be keen to sharpen up ahead of the season proper and we are confident there’ll be an extremely high level of play for fans to watch,” he added.

“All games, whether they’re played in Tasmania or elsewhere, will count towards the overall tournament standings and we look forward to watching terrific basketball as anticipation builds ahead of the regular season,” Loeliger said.

The full NBL Blitz schedule will be announced soon.