# NBL news 9/26



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Legends help reshape Philips Championship*

NBL legends Andrew and Lindsay Gaze, Adrian Hurley and Steve Carfino are joining forces to help improve the Philips Championship for fans and teams alike.

They have joined NBL Referee Manager Pat Tilden, NBL General Manger Chuck Harmison and Basketball Australia’s General Manager of Community Basketball Michael Haynes on the recently formed NBL Games Committee, whose focus is finding ways to make the Philips Championship an even better spectacle and more consistent in terms of its officiating.

Since being formed, the Games Committee has produced a new series of ‘Points of Emphasis’ for referees to follow during the 2006/07 Phillips Championship season which were trialled recently in Coffs Harbour during the Virgin Blue NBL Pre-Season Blitz tournament. 

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Powell sizzles in Breakers' win*

American import Riccardo Powell has led the New Zealand Breakers to a hard-fought 112-106 victory over the South Dragons at the North Shore Events Centre in Auckland on Tuesday night.

The South Carolina native top-scored for his side with 34 points on 14-of-19 shooting while Brian Wethers wasn't far behind with 31 points (9-of-18) as the Breakers hit 55.3 per cent of their field-goals to the Dragons' 47.9 per cent.

The Dragons had the lead after quarter and half-time, but the initiative turned in favour of the hosts after the midway point, the Breakers opening up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Crocs crush Kings*

Townsville has shown they will be no easy beats in the 2006-2007 Philips Championship with a captain’s knock from John Rillie helping the Crocodiles to a 117-103 demolition of the Sydney Kings at the Townsville Entertainment Centre on Friday night.

The North Queensland NBL franchise was keen to earn respect after recruiting a new roster and new coach during the off-season but in the end it was three old heads in Rillie (37 points, seven rebounds, six assists), Kelvin Robertson (28 points including four-from-six from the three point line) and Larry Abney (16 points, 15 rebounds) who got the job done for the home side.

Crocodiles coach Trevor Gleeson said it was his side's composure in the second half that won them the game.

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Tigers edge past Taipans*

The Melbourne Tigers have started their campaign to defend the NBL Philips Championship on a positive note with a 94-86 win over the Cairns Taipans at the State Netball and Hockey Centre in Melbourne on Saturday night.

The Tigers put a sluggish start behind them to streak away in the fourth quarter with Dave Thomas top-scoring with 16 points and Darryl McDonald close on his heels with 15.

Taipans Martin Cattalini and Anthony Stewart were the main contributors for the visitors with 32 and 21 points respectively.

The Tigers now have a 13-match winning streak against the Taipans and join the Singapore Slingers, the Townsville Crocodiles and the Perth Wildcats as round one victors. 

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Fast start the key*

Perth Wildcats coach Scott Fisher says the key to Friday night’s win was to sprint out of the blocks.

Fisher said the emphasis pre-match had been to get off to a good start, both in the match and for the season.

“I think it’s very important, really,” he said. “We’ve been together for a while, and we’ve worked very hard, and it’s great to get that reward for that hard work."

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Opals are world champs*

Australia has won its first ever women's basketball world title, downing Russia 91-74 in the final.

Penny Taylor, who was later named as the tournament's most valuable player, had a game-high 28 points and Lauren Jackson contributed 16 as well as 11 rebounds.

Jackson finished the championship with a tournament-high average of 21.3 points per game.

Maria Stepanova had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the runners-up, who started well but were never really in the game.

The Opals looked nervous early however it wasn't long before they found their feet and rediscovered the form that has seen them perform so well in Brazil.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Kings too strong*

The Sydney Kings held off a determined Brisbane Bullets to claim their first win of the new Philips Championship season with a 109-100 victory at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

New American imports EJ Rowland and Rodney Elliott caught the eye for last year's grand finalists, scoring 16 and 20 points respectively to provide the perfect response to their opening-game defeat by Townsville on Friday.

Former Kings CJ Bruton (17 points) and Ebi Ere (24) also impressed for the visitors, who held a 59-54 lead at half-time, but the Kings fought back in the third quarter before keeping the Bullets at bay later on.

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Maher sparks 36ers*

The Adelaide 36ers have escaped with a thrilling 89-85 comeback victory over the Wollongong Hawks at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Sunday.

Brett Maher led a stunning finish, posting seven straight points during a vital stretch in the final three minutes, including a 24-foot dagger from front on to tie the game followed by a floater in the lane to grab the final lead.

''Down the stretch I was able to hit a couple, which was lucky and I just got the ball in the right spots so it was just fortunate it was at the right time of the game,'' Maher said.

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Stars set for early return*

Brisbane stars Stephen Black and Mark Bradtke could give their side an early-season leg-up by returning from injury earlier than expected the Courier Mail has revealed.

Black said he was confident he would return in time for the Bullets third match against Townsville at Brisbane Convention Centre on October 11.

Bradtke, who had surgery to clean up a bulging disc in his back five weeks ago, is on track to return for the second game of the season against his old club, Melbourne, on October 3. 

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Taipans set to turn it on*

The Cairns Rawnet Taipans have announced they will continue to set a high standard of home game entertainment by staging a massive spectacular for fans at this Friday’s opening home game of the season.

The club will stage a blackout at the venue, including indoor fireworks, introductions of the team and cheer squads and the leagues no.1 mascot Joe Blake. The night will also feature the Hooley Dooley’s, special performance from the Dance Agency plus many more activities to keep fans fully entertained.

The club is expecting a big crowd according to Cairns Rawnet Taipans General Manager Denis Keeffe.

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Injury-free Breakers*

The Harvey Norman NZ Breakers are injury-free ahead of Tuesday night’s Philips Championship NBL season opener against the South Dragons at the North Shore Events Centre.

Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis said there are no niggles in the 10-man roster and, with just a light shoot around tomorrow morning, they will be in good shape for a return to the club’s original playing venue.

“We haven’t had a great deal of time training at the North Shore Events Centre, but we’re familiar enough with the venue and I’m sure we’ll come in and play well,” Lemanis said.

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Elliott quick to find his feet*

New import Rodney Elliott has not taken long to find his feet with the Sydney Kings.

Just 10 days after arriving in Australia and the 204cm forward has scored 20 points in the 117-103 defeat by Townsville Crocodiles on Friday, and followed that up with another 20-point haul against Brisbane Bullets on Sunday.

The 30-year-old American has already made an impact, with that team-high contribution helping last year's grand finalists to a 109-100 victory over the Bullets, and he believes coach Brian Goorjian has made it easy to settle in.

"The coach and I talk a lot about the game of basketball and about what he wants from me, and he's involved me in the team,"Elliott said after Sunday's triumph.

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Dragons make NBL debut*

The South Dragons, Victoria’s second NBL team, will make their Philips Championship debut on Tuesday night on the road against the New Zealand Breakers.

The Dragons play the Breakers tonight at Auckland’s North Shore Events Centre with tip-off in the historic match set for 7:00pm local New Zealand time.

The match, apart from being an historic one for fans of the new team, should also see the return of Philips Championship legend Shane Heal. ‘Hammer’ is scheduled to play his first NBL game since 6 April 2003, when he led the Kings to their first title in Perth.

The multiple Olympian should take the floor for the Dragons in his 364th Philips Championship game but a number of his teammates will be experiencing their first taste of the NBL.


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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Rillie claims first weekly honour*

Townsville Crocodiles star John Rillie has started the new Philips Championship season impressively, winning the NBL Philips Player of the Week award for Round One after leading his team to a dominant 117-91 win over 2006 minor premiers the Sydney Kings on Friday night.

Rillie scored an amazing 37 points on 11-of-18 shooting, as well as adding seven rebounds to go with his six assists and two steals. ‘JR’ was unstoppable in the second half, picking up 29 points after the long break to guide the Crocs to an upset victory.

While pleased to win the weekly honour, Rillie isn’t getting ahead of himself this early in the season and knows the Crocodiles need to continue to produce week-in, week-out.

“It was a good win and a good start for the season for the Crocs as a team and me personally but it is only one game so it’s best to not get too wrapped up in it all just yet - there is a long way to go,” Rillie said.

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Fast Facts - Round 2*

Check out the next season installment of Fast Facts with a full preview of all 2006/07 round two action Philips Championship action.

New Zealand Breakers vs South Dragons
Tuesday September 26 – North Shore Events Centre
First meeting: This will be the first time the two teams have met
Next meeting: Round 13 at Vodafone Arena and round 20 in North Shore Events Centre

This game serves as the debut match for the South Dragons as well as the return match for the legendary Shane Heal, who will play in the Philips Championship for the first time since 6/4/2003 when he was a part of the Kings first Championship win in Perth.

New Zealand begin this season with the least amount of NBL Championship winning experience of any of the 12 teams. New Breaker Oscar Forman is the sole member of the squad with a ring to his name, which he earned as a member of Adelaide’s 2002 Championship team.

With minimal changes to their roster, and a personal tally of five from David Stiff, last year’s champions the Melbourne Tigers lead the count with its players having 14 rings between them.

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## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

*Greats to select All-Stars*

Three of the greatest names in National Basketball League history will form the panel charged with the task of selecting the best-of-the-best from the Philips Championship to appear in the 2006 NBL All-Star Game.

Current NBL Hall of Famers Steve Carfino and Cal Bruton will be joined by the man voted as the greatest Philips Championship player ever, Andrew Gaze, to select the 20 athletes to play in this year’s All-Star Game, which will be held at Adelaide’s The Dome on Saturday 25 November.

NBL Events Manager Stacey Meadows said the trio were the perfect choice to form the All-Star Selection Panel.

“We wanted to ensure that the panellists had the right basketball credentials and were highly familiar with all current Philips Championship players,” said Meadows. “There can be absolutely no doubting that Gaze, Bruton and Carfino fit the bill in both those categories and we are confident they will choose two teams that will truly reflect the star players that the public will want to see on November 25.”

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