Basketball On The Internet.

*FLASHBACKS, my weekly "lucky dip" where I just reach into my drawers of old Australian basketball stuff and transcribe whatever I find for you.

Oops, another program from the 1982 NBL season and this one is from the City of Adelaide Eagles (the forerunner of the Adelaide 36ers) and for the visit by reigning champion Launceston Casino City. I say "oops" because it is two 1982 Flashbacks in a row but cést la vie, it is what I yanked from my drawers today. This is from the club's "See 'em soar" program which retailed at the games for the princely sum of 20 cents.

 

WELCOME

Welcome to Apollo and this afternoon's unique programme.

This is the first time anywhere in Australia that a National Basketball League match and a South-East Conference game have been part of the same programme.

It is a bold move for both Noarlunga City and the City of Adelaide Eagles, and we hope you will appreciate this opportunity to look at two top flight matches on the same programme: Noarlunga City versus Australian Institute of Sport Pumas and City of Adelaide Eagles versus Launceston Casino City.

It is fitting that one of the teams on this innovative programme is the Australian Institute of Sport side which itself is a brave experiment in Australian sport.

The team is made up of basketball students at the Institute in Canberra, an institution designed specifically to boost Australia's international standing in a range of sports. That means, of course, that in the first game this afternoon you will have the opportunity to see the best young basketballers in Australia, and quite possibly the national side of 1985.

It might be interesting to try and pick the stars of the future.

The Institute attracts young players from all over Australia and this afternoon's team includes South Australians Karl Luke and Wayne Brown, both members of the SA Under 20 side.

In the second game, the surprise packet of the NBL, the City of Adelaide Eagles, will be shaping up to Launceston after a fortnight's lay-off, and the home side is eager to get on with its campaign for a spot in the final four.

 

TODAY'S SEC CLASH

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE of SPORT

Head Coach: Adrian Hurley

Asst Coach: Patrick Hunt

Colours: Red, Blue and White

4 Karl Luke, 5 Peter Wain, 6 Ned Coten, 7 Brett Flanigan, 8 Bill Ward, 9 Mark Dalton, 10 Simon Cottrell, 11 Jamie Kennedy, 12 Trevor Pugh, 13 Wayne Brown, 14 Peter Purins, 15 Tim Morrissey, 21 Robert Dempster, 22 Ernie Watterson

NOARLUNGA CITY TIGERS

Coach: Gerry Clarke

Asst: Shaun Moylan

Colours: Yellow and Black

4 Lutz Heim, 5 Steve Shinnick, 6 Kym Borrett, 8 Peter McKenzie, 9 Greg Warnest, 10 Dwayne Nelson, 11 Steve Sparrow, 12 Mike Bourne, 13 Gerry Clarke, 14 Uldis Bruns

REFEREES: Geoff Weeks & Ean Turner

SEC PREVIEW

The first of this afternoon's big games sees a young cat pitted against an old cat, with the Tigers relying heavily on experience and the Pumas pinning their faith entirely on youth.

On paper, youth looks likely to carry the day. The AIS Pumas have an even side spearheaded by South Australian Karl Luke, and seem to be too well-balanced for the Tigers.

Their youth and speed could be big winners against the likes of Lutz Heim, who is struggling to throw off a back injury, and Steve Sparrow. The home side's problems are further compounded by the fact US star Dwayne Nelson is still short of a run.

The visitors are also likely to out-rebound the Tigers, with Ned Coten, Simon Cottrell and Peter Purins all 203 centimetres or better. Noarlunga City Tigers will be looking to a power game from Peter McKenzie to help counter their influence on the boards.

The Tigers will miss Kym Borrett who is suiting up with the Eagles in the NBL game this afternoon, and will be looking for big things from Nelson, Heim and Sparrow to cover his absence.

The home side's greatest chance for success could depend on their ability to control the tempo and to nullify the Pumas' biggest assets, their tearaway speed and exuberance.

This intriguing tussle is bound to be close but on paper the greater speed and better balance of the Pumas side seem likely to give them the two points.

 

TODAY'S NBL CLASH

(All NBL teams fly TAA and use Molten basketballs)

CITY of ADELAIDE EAGLES

Coach: Mick Osborne

Manager: Jeff Coulls

Colours: White, Red and Gold

4 Chris Stirling, 5 Paul Hyland, 6 Darryl Pearce, 7 Mark Sykes, 8 Eriks Drizners, 10 Ian Grigg, 12 Rick Hodges, 13 Reg Biddings, 14 Kym Borrett, 15 David Winslow

LAUNCESTON CASINO CITY

Coach: Curtis Coleman

Manager: Russell Brownlie

Colours: Red, Green and Yellow

5 Dean Draper, 6 Travor Mathew, 7 Nigel Cummins, 8 Philip Masters, 9 Lynton Masters, 10 Lenzy Houston, 12 Michael Parsons, 13 Steve Warren, 15 Jim Ericksen

REFEREES: Greg Love & Les Dick

The Eagles use and recommend Robinson's Barley Water

NBL Referees are sponsored by Pioneer Concrete

NBL PREVIEW - THE BIG GAME

How the mighty have fallen!

The visitors this afternoon, Launceston Casino City, have had a meteoric riches to rags fall from the pinnacle they reached last year when, in this very stadium, they stopped Nunawading Spectres to win the championship. This year they are languishing near the bottom of the table. But they are not to be taken lightly for, while they lack the depth of last season, they still have good players where it could hurt the Eagles - inside and in a guard spot.

That being said, on paper the Eagles look far too strong and confident, provided they come up well. The last time they played home on a Sunday afternoon, they played badly, losing to Brisbane in a poor standard game without showing any of the fire or aggression characteristic of their winning games so far this season. Coach Osborne is unlikely to let that happen this afternoon.

The home side looks like it has too much firepower for Launceston which lacks back-up for its key players Jim Ericksen and Lenzy Houston.

Ericksen player-coached Launceston last year and whether because of that or some other reason, such as the team's awesome guard power, perhaps did not have a good season. This year however, he is in outstanding form. He is high on the list in the Trade Credits MVP competition and is the league's fourth top scorer with an average of more than 25 points a game. His clash with David Winslow should be a gem. Winslow should be too mobile for Ericksen and his soft left hand will cause the Launceston centre all sorts of problems. But Ericksen is very strong and is taller than Winslow so the Eagles centre will have to make position quickly and well to counter the tough Tasmanian and dominate the boards as he has done so often for the Eagles this season.

Ericksen is averaging just one rebound a game more than Winslow so personal reputations will also be on the line in this afternoon's game.

The late inclusion of 207cm centre Rick Hodges, with three seasons of NBL behind him, adds a new dimension to the pivot battle and should weigh heavily in the Eagles' favour.

In the guard spots, coach Osborne seems likely to again switch the very quick Chris Stirling and Paul Hyland in against Lenzy Houston, a tactic which has worked very well, even against the much-vaunted Al Green. Houston is averaging 27 points a game but he will have his work cut out to maintain his average against the relentless pressure and aggression of Stirling and Hyland.

That leaves the visitors with two king-sized headaches - how to counter Darryl Pearce and Reg Biddings, who is sandwiched between Ericksen and Houston on the scorers' list.

Either of them is capable of shooting an opponent off the floor, as Westate Wildcats found out to their detriment, and form suggests they could both get a bag this afternoon.

The Eagles should win, particularly after Casino City's hard game last night. But that was what we thought about the game against Brisbane.

 

NBL PREMIERSHIP TABLE

Team (Win-Loss record, Premiership Pts)

West Adelaide 10-2, 20

Nunawading 8-1, 16

St Kilda 8-6, 16

Coburg 7-4, 14

Brisbane 7-5, 14

Geelong 6-3, 12

City of Adelaide 6-4, 12

Newcastle 6-6, 12

Sydney 5-4, 10

Perth 5-7, 10

Canberra 5-7, 10

Illawarra 4-6, 8

Launceston 1-12, 2

Bankstown 0-11, 0

 

TRADE CREDITS MVP COMPETITION

Al Green (West Adelaide) 26

Mike Slusher (St Kilda) 22

Bennie Lewis (Coburg) 22

Jim Ericksen (Launceston) 20

Brian Banks (Brisbane) 20

Tad Dufelmeier (Canberra) 19

Chuck Harmison (Nunawading) 18

TOP NBL SCORERS

Reg Biddings (City of Adelaide) 27.2 ppg

Cal Bruton (Geelong) 26.6

Al Green (West Adelaide) 26.5

Jim Ericksen (Launceston) 26.4

Bennie Lewis (Coburg) 26.3

Leroy Loggins (West Adelaide) 25.1

David Winslow (City of Adelaide) 24.7

James Crawford (Geelong) 24.2

Alonzo Weatherly (Illawarra) 24.2

George Morrow (Newcastle) 23.9

Mike Jones (Illawarra) 23.9

Lenzy Houston (Launceston) 23.9

Curt Forrester (Sydney City) 23.5

NBL TOP REBOUNDERS

George Morrow (Newcastle) 15.7

Chuck Harmison (Nunawading) 13.3

Jim Ericksen (Launceston) 12.4

David Winslow (City of Adelaide) 11.9

Kelvin Henderson (Bankstown) 11.9

Curt Forrester (Sydney City) 11.0

Brad Miley (Geelong) 10.3

Herb McEachin (Canberra) 10.1

LAST WEEK'S NBL RESULTS

Coburg Giants 87 d St Kilda Pumas 73

Illawarra Hawks 104 d Newcastle Falcons 90

Canberra Cannons 82 d Bankstown Bruins 76

Canberra Cannons 112 d Launceston Casino City 79

Sydney City 91 d Launceston Casino City 76

NEXT WEEK...

This is the big one, the derby. Don't miss it.

Sunday, 2:45pm, City of Adelaide Eagles v West Adelaide Bearcats