Basketball On The Internet.

MATCHES against the two Chinese teams at this year’s Australian Basketball Challenge (formerly the NBL Preseason Blitz) in Brisbane will be live-streamed to China and also available to NBL fans.

The eight NBL clubs will be joined by CBA outfits Zhejiang CB Golden Bulls and Tianjin Ronggang at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from Friday, September 23 to Monday, September 26.

The Loggins-Bruton Cup will remain the championship prize for the ABC winner, all 10 teams expected to be at full strength for the annual event.

Melbourne United will be defending its 2015 trophy win, with host team and returning NBL power Brisbane Bullets also sure to draw considerable attention.

United last night beat visiting UCLA 89-84 in its preseason opener, Majok Majok and David Barlow both scoring 16 points and Todd Blanchfield adding 14. Kyle Adnam (pictured below against NZ) also helped his cause for NBL recognition with 10 assists.

CBA teams usually include ex-NBA players, often drawing seven-figure salaries.

“In the future, we see the ABC being a competition that involves teams from around the globe including the United States, Asia and Europe,” NBL general manager Jeremy Loeliger said.

“We already have very strong interest from all three regions for next year’s competition, which is already in the works.”

Games against the CBA outfits will be live streamed into China.

“Australian fans will also have the chance to see our teams play against international competition via live streaming on our website,” Loeliger said.

The 2016 ABC draw is:

Friday, September 23, 2016
2:00pm Doors open for Session #1
2:30pm – 4:30pm Game #1 – Perth vs Tianjin
5:00pm – 7:00pm Game #2 – Sydney vs New Zealand
7:30pm – 9:30pm Game #3 – Brisbane vs Zhejiang CB

Saturday, September 24, 2016
10:30am Doors open for Session #2
11:00am – 1:00pm Game #4 – Cairns vs Adelaide
1:30pm – 3:30pm Game #5 – Illawarra vs Zhejiang CB

4:30pm Doors open for Session #3
5:00pm – 7:00pm Game #6 – Melbourne vs Tianjin
(Fireworks in between games)
7:30pm – 9:30pm Game #7 – Sydney vs Brisbane

Sunday, September 25, 2016
10:30am Doors open for Session #4
11:00am – 1:00pm Game #8 – New Zealand vs Cairns
1:30pm – 3:30pm Game #9 – Illawarra vs Perth

4:30pm Doors open for Session #5
5:00pm – 7:00pm Game #10 – Tianjin vs Zhejiang CB
7:00pm Dunk Contest and Three-Point Shootout
8:00pm – 10:00pm Game #11 – Adelaide vs Melbourne

Monday, 26 September 2016
10.00am Doors open for Session #6
10:30am – 12:30pm Game #12 – Perth vs Sydney
1:00pm – 3:00pm Game #13 – Adelaide vs New Zealand

4:30pm Doors open for Session #7
5:00pm – 7:00pm Game #14 – Brisbane vs Cairns
7:30pm – 9:30pm Game #15 – Illawarra vs Melbourne
9:30pm Presentation on-court