NBL returns to Gold Coast as Blitz location announced
Photo: NBL
The National Basketball League has announced the location of the latest instalment of its pre-season ‘Blitz’ tournament, with Gold Coast being named the host.
The NBL Blitz will take place from September 16th to 22nd, just days after the final of the FIBA World Cup in the Philippines.
New NBL CEO David Stevenson has called the upcoming Blitz the “biggest and best event we’ve ever hosted in the lead-up to a season.”
“We promise to deliver world-class basketball and family-friendly entertainment, and are delighted to be staging the Blitz on the Gold Coast,” he said.
Every game will be played at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, with them being broadcasted on Kayo Freebies.
Gold Coast has been reported to be a candidate for future NBL expansion, and hosting the Blitz has been a pre-curser in years gone by for expansion franchises. With Tasmania and Darwin hosting the event in recent years.
The sunshine state city has had NBL teams in the past but has folded every time due to a number of reasons. The Gold Coast Rollers in the 90s and the Blaze in the 2010s failed to stay in the league due to financial complications.
“The Gold Coast is one of many cities in our expansion considerations. Gold Coast fans now have the chance to vote with their feet and turn up to the games, and show us why they deserve a team,” Stevenson said.
Each team will compete for the Loggins-Bruton Cup by playing three games each.
Seven maximum points can be won from each game, with three for a win, one for a quarter and 0.5 if a quarter is drawn.
Team Schedules
Adelaide 36ers
- Vs New Zealand (17th September)
- Vs Perth (19th September)
- Vs Tasmania (21st September)
Brisbane Bullets
- Vs Melbourne (16th September)
- Vs Illawarra (20th September)
- Vs Sydney (22nd September)
Cairns Taipans
- Vs Perth (17th September)
- Vs Phoenix (20th September)
- Vs Illawarra (22nd September)
Illawarra Hawks
- Vs Melbourne (18th September)
- Vs Brisbane (20th September)
- Vs Cairns (22nd September)
Melbourne United
- Vs Brisbane (16th September)
- Vs Illawarra (18th September)
- Vs Sydney (20th September)
New Zealand Breakers
- Vs Adelaide (17th September)
- Vs Tasmania (19th September)
- Vs Perth (21st September)
Perth Wildcats
- Vs Cairns (17th September)
- Vs Adelaide (19th September)
- Vs New Zealand (21st September)
South-East Melbourne Phoenix
- Vs Tasmania (16th September)
- Vs Sydney (18th September)
- Vs Cairns (20th September)
Sydney Kings
- Vs Phoenix (18th September)
- Vs Melbourne (20th September)
- Vs Brisbane (22nd September)
Tasmania JackJumpers
- Vs Phoenix (16th September)
- Vs New Zealand (19th September)
- Vs Adelaide (21st September)