Basketball On The Internet.

HOW unbelievably good was that? Big Joe Tertzakian and his enthusiastic off-court team made Day 1 of the NBL Blitz memorable on so many levels.

Auchenflower Stadium looked great, the atmosphere was terrific and there was no doubt big-time basketball was back in Brisbane and the sell-out crowd was loving it.

You know things are going well when the MC has to ask people to squish up a little more on the bench seating to literally allow more "bums on seats"!

Those who visit here regularly know I'm not a fan of the national anthem being played at state league games or anytime someone just thinks it's a good idea, believing it should be for international games and bona fide national events.

Yesterday was an event in Brisbane, for sure, and the singer knocked it out of the park. Yeah. I will track down his name to give him due kudos tomorrow.

And the two games?

Well I would suggest neither went the way most of us may have expected, but more of that later.

Day 1 was a massive success so topping it today will take some doing.

Get along anyway to see it being done the way it should be done.

Oh wait. That's right. If you don't have a ticket now, you can't.

It's sold out.

But you're still a chance for the evening session.

 

First impressions

Arriving at Auchenflower with cars parked everywhere and to see a crowd 3-and-4 deep snaking its way back into the park was a huge positive to start with.

If Brisbane wants an NBL team again, it came out in force to say so.

It took no time at all for the venue to fill up, event staff looking smart in their "BRISBANE RE-LOADED" T-shirts. (I see what you did there ... Bullets...nice.)

And then on came the teams, first Townsville with its new look and Melbourne with its considerably different look.

Oh yeah baby. Blow the whistle and let's get going!

 

On the hardwood

SAID it last year and I'll repeat it for those who like to say this, but the opening night didn't have any "upsets".

You can't really have upsets in a preseason game.

What you CAN have though is the unexpected.

For example, it would have been unexpected for a rebuilt, rejuvenated and exciting team such as United to be unable to hold onto a 19-point halftime lead over the new Crocs.

The first half was much of what some were fearing - that the 2014-15 regular season may be irrelevant and we should just fast-forward to a Perth-Melbourne Grand Final.

It was only a couple of years ago when New Zealand and Perth were head-and-shoulders above the pack and the season just played out that way until the ultimate.

So would 2014-15 be the same, only substitute United for the Breakers?

Well, as I said, with the artists formerly known as The Tigers ahead 44-25 at halftime and new import Jordan McRae's personal 23 points at the break trailing the Crocs by two, it did look ominously familiar.

So when Mickell Gladness, Todd Blanchfield and Co didn't just fight back but pull away, it was a sight as reassuring as any you may need through the Blitz.

And how much confidence will Shawn Dennis' group take from that?

By the same token, it would hardly be panic stations at United, with McRae on the bench during the dying stages and Steve Dennis stateside.

And the same would apply for 2014 NBL Grand Finalist Adelaide, which was comprehensively beaten by New Zealand.

But let's not get too carried away.

Many of the Breakers were coming off a World Cup outing with the Tall Blacks and when you've been on the court with the USA, the 36ers can't seem that imposing.

Plus Cedric Jackson is back, Tai Wesley is gold and Tai Wynyard silver.

And Corey Webster showed he might finally be the real deal after a few years of being Fool's Gold - you know, the gold that looks like the real thing but under the microscope, is just a rock.

Well he was platinum yesterday with 12 points in succession from the 5:11 to the 3:11 mark of the third quarter, effectively killing the game as a contest.

The Sixers though haven't had anywhere near the smooth preseason of 2013, still shuffling two players in ahead of the Blitz.

There are better times ahead.

 

Results and Table

Townsville 78 (Gladness 19, Blanchfield 15, Conklin 12, Markovic 10, Steindl, Henry 7; Blanchfield 9 rebs; Markovic, Djeric 5 assists) d Melbourne 73 (McRae 28, Kickert 16, Worthington 11, Tomlinson 6; Kickert 7 rebs; Worthington 5 assists).

New Zealand 96 (Webster 21, Wesley 16, Wynyard 12, Carter, Pledger 11; Wynyard 9 rebs; Jackson 8 assists) d Adelaide 84 (Montreal 15, Gibson 13, Teys 12, Crawford 10, Wilson 9, Creek 8; Petrie 7 rebs; Gibson, Teys 5 assists).

Team - W - L - Qtrs Won - Pts

New Zealand 1 0 3 6

Townsville 1 0 2 5

Melbourne 0 1 2 2

Adelaide 0 1 1 1

News Corp Report (cut & paste): http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/more-sports/townsville-and-new-zealand-score-wins-in-nbl-blitz-in-brisbane-on-friday-night/story-fnii0hmp-1227064604995

 

What We Learnt

*That Mickell Gladness and Daniel Kickert are the modern-day centres - long, lean and with post-up and range-games;

*That even Gladness' missed attempt at a windmill dunk - he was fouled and went to the stripe - was audacious, exciting and just the type of showmanship the league needs;

*That Brian Conklin was the first player to receive a "flop" warning, at 4:37 in the first quarter and from there, to the rest of the night, it wasn't an issue again;

*That Leon Henry is better-than-advertised and relished his role with the Crocs;

*That a smart news gathering organisation would have a photographer across the court from United assistant coach Darryl McDonald to capture his extraordinary range of bemused, quizzical and pained expressions of disbelief at officiating calls;

*That Jordan McRae is going to be a nightmare match-up one-on-one;

*That Mirko Djeric can still lose his head at times - but that's still better than some of the passionless play a couple of his opponents served up;

*That even if Nate Tomlinson slips over in front of Todd Blanchfield, the Crocs swingman can just jump over him for the layup;

*That Ekene Ibekwe is NOT the man you want taking free throws if your life is on the line, unless smashing the side of the backboard to the right of the ring counts for a point;

*That Ibekwe also is the first to foul out at the Blitz;

*That Joey Wright needs to shave that grey, fluffy, beardy, looks-like-some-cottonwool-stuck-on, off his chin - even if Rob Beveridge recommended it, don't do it! - because when people say grey on a man is "distinguished" all they really man is it distinguishes you from young people;

*That Tai Wesley has a wicked spin-to-the-baseline move;

*That Rhys Carter looks good in black;

*That Mitch Creek needs to get going before the last quarter;

*That teams need to adjust to officiating, 52 fouls called in the Breakers-36ers game and 61 free throws taken;

*That Jordan McRae, Mickell Gladness, Daniel Kickert, Daequon Montreal and Alex Pledger like a dunk;

*That Peter Crawford still has game;

*That Tom Abercrombie and Luke Schenscher were key absentees from the night's second match;

*That Bruce Bolden looks fit enough to play;

*That first night winners Townsville and New Zealand should have a cracker match-up today.

 

Today

First session

1.30 Perth Wildcats V Cairns Taipans

3.30 Melbourne V Sydney Kings

Second session

6.30 Adelaide 36ers V Wollongong Hawks

8.30 New Zealand Breakers V Townsville Crocodiles

 

MEMORY TESTER

OK, people definitely got the hang of this yesterday, with readers sending their answer to the Day 1 question to me on social media. Just out of interest, Townsville Crocs coach Shawn Dennis was the first person with the correct answer but no-one had the teams correct.

Remember, sometimes there's clues in how the question is worded. Yesterday's clue was the word "sides".

Day 1 Answer: Bruce Bolden played for two SIDES in Melbourne - EastSIDE Melbourne Spectres and WestSIDE Melbourne Saints. He also suited for Sydney Kings and West Sydney Razorbacks. Pat yourselves on the back if you got any of that correct. (As Jason Smith fans now know, the question was more specific than it looked.)

Day 2 - Q1: Three-part question. Who was the first Australian player to win the NBL's league MVP award? A point for the player's name, another for the year and a third for naming his club.

Q2: There have been 17 official NBL Preseason Tournaments and nine different clubs have claimed the early-bird honors. But four of our current eight teams have never won one. Which four?